Tag Archives: television

October 11, 2021 – Ava Makes Spencer Face the Consequences, a Talent Show On Deck & London

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Nikolas walks into the Spring Ridge visitor room on the phone. He says, just find a way to keep eyes on his son, and keep him updated. Alexis asks how he’s doing, but he asks if that shouldn’t be his line. She says, Ava stopped by on her way out of town. Sorry. He’s probably heartbroken, huh? He says, Ava didn’t leave town, and she says, that’s good, isn’t it? He says he got his wife back, but he lost his son in the process.

Josslyn asks Esme, what’s wrong? Something happen with Spencer? Esme says, Spencer is as okay as he can be, considering he just lost his father and his best friends.

Spencer asks what Trina is doing at Windymere, and she says, visiting her friend. Ava says, a better question is, what is he doing there? and he says he’s looking for his father. Ava says, he isn’t home, and he says, his mistake. She says so he admits he makes them, and he says, when it comes to his father, yeah. She says, but not when it comes to her, and he says, no. Trina asks how he can say that to Ava after everything he’s done to her, and he says, it’s more complicated than that. Trina says, it’s probably not, but forget it. She’s out of there. He asks her to wait.

Brando hugs Sonny, and says it’s good to see him. Sonny says, it’s good to be back, and Brando says, when he heard the news… and Sonny says, it was something else, right? Brando says Sonny was definitely missed, and Sonny says Jason told him about the situation with Renault. Brando says, just another day at the office. But in all seriousness, he was glad to help the family. Sonny says, family’s everything, and Brando says, it’s about to get bigger. He’s going to be a father.

Sasha goes to Nina’s office, and tells her, good news. The cross promotion not only boosted Deception’s sales, but increased Crimson’s circulation. She hands Nina a folder, and Nina flips through it, saying, that’s great news. Sasha didn’t have to deliver this herself in person, so what’s up? Sasha says she has something to say to Nina.

Carly asks if Britt is ready for some radical honesty, and Britt says, she is if Carly is. What is it Carly wants to be so honest about? Carly says, Jason.

At the MetroCourt bar, Shawn thanks Jax for meeting him, and Jax says, absolutely. He assumes it’s about Hayden. How’s the investigation going? Shawn says he’s hit some roadblocks, and Jax says he heard Hayden’s mother was murdered. Right after Shawn and Sam spoke to her, right? Shawn says, it can’t be a coincidence, and Jax asks how it circles back to him.

Sonny hands Brando a drink, saying, he wants to congratulate Brando and Sasha. They clink glasses, and Sonny says, starting a family is a big deal. Brando says he’s getting that sense, and Sonny says he’s going to need a good job, a big salary. He can work out something at the warehouse if Brando wants. Brando thanks him, but says he’s out of the business. He and Sasha just want a quiet life with their baby. Sonny is surprised, since Brando seemed so intent on being part of the organization. Is Sasha pressuring him to leave?

Sasha says she was surprised when she heard Nina knew Sonny was alive for months, and Nina says she’s sure Sasha was. Sasha says, watching that family grieve, especially Michael… Nina says she knows what she did was unforgiveable. Sasha can tell her what she thinks of her; she can take it. Let her get Sasha started. She thinks Nina was cruel, unfeeling… Sasha says she thinks Nina was in pain, and thinks Nina made a mistake, one she’ll regret for the rest of her life. She wishes she didn’t, but she knows what that feels like.

Cameron tells Josslyn, Spencer’s dad cut him off, and Esme says, emotionally and financially. Josslyn guesses that’s not too surprising, but still… Esme says, it’s awful, and Josslyn asks where they’re staying. Esme says, nowhere at the moment, and Josslyn says she’s sure they’ll figure it out. Esme and Spencer are nothing if not resourceful. Cameron says, Joss… but Esme says she deserved that. Josslyn asks Esme why she’s there. She’d made it pretty clear that she blamed them for Sonny confronting Nikolas, which she thinks is pretty funny considering Esme was the one who told Sonny that Nikolas was taking off with Avery. Esme says she’s sorry, and Josslyn asks, for what part? Esme says, for all of it, but try putting herself in Esme’s position. Seeing her boyfriend in pain was torture, so she lashed out at Josslyn and she shouldn’t have. It’s been great talking to Cameron. Josslyn says, that’s Cameron, and Esme says, he’s pretty great. He said he could forgive her and Spence. What about Josslyn?

Alexis asks Nikolas, what’s wrong with Spencer? It’s not the stalker, is it? Nikolas says, Spencer is the stalker, and Alexis says, no. He says, yes, and she asks if he’s sure. Nikolas says, he admitted it, and she says, wow. She thought he was wrong. She guesses it was her that was wrong. He says he still can’t believe Spencer was capable of such cruelty, and she says she wonders why. Maybe it’s because of Nikolas.

Spencer suggests he and Trina go somewhere to talk, but she says she has no interest in going anywhere with him. He asks if Ava would mind giving them some privacy, and Ava says, that depends. She asks if Trina would like some privacy, and Trina says she guesses she’ll hear Spencer out. Ava says she has a call to make, and tells Trina to call if she needs her. She leaves, and Spencer asks if Trina would like to sit, but she says, no. He asks what Ava said to make her so angry, and she tells him, Ava didn’t say anything. He’s the one who makes her angry. He says he thought they’d be on better terms after his apology, and she says, he calls that an apology? Nuh-uh. He’s going to have to up his game.

Shawn says he’s not implying Jax had anything to do with Naomie’s murder, and Jax says he’s glad he’s not on the suspect list. Shawn says he just found himself stuck trying to figure out who it is, so he’ll tell Jax everything he knows so far… Jax says, hoping he gets unstuck. He’s at Shawn’s disposal. Shawn says when he and Sam spoke to Jax last, he told them to talk to Nikolas. Jax asks if Nikolas was no help, and Shawn says Nikolas had nothing to add. Jax says, Shawn thinks he’s lying? and Shawn flashes back to Alexis saying, if there’s a connection between Drew’s disappearance and Naomie’s murder, Sam’s investigation just got more dangerous. This somehow leads back to the Cassadines. It always does. They need to figure out how, before even more people get killed. Shawn tells Jax, let’s just say someone reminded him of what the Cassadines are capable of.

Carly says, everything she told Britt at the hospital that day was a bunch of crap. She just wanted Britt to let go. For her own sake. She knew Jason wouldn’t do it, so she had to. Britt says, so Carly lied, and Carly says, yeah. Britt says, so Carly and Jason don’t love each other? but Carly says, of course (🍷) they love each other, but that’s not why they got married; it was a business situation. Britt asks if Carly thinks she’s stupid, and Carly says, no. Britt says, Jason was on the run. There was some meeting and Carly filled in for him, then he went back and saved her life. She was there in the room, taking a bullet out of his side. Of course (🍷) it was about business, and then it  became about more. Carly says, she and Jason thought Sonny was dead, obviously. If they were going to be married, they wanted it to be real. All the bells and whistles; a true husband and wife. They were happy. Britt says, this is going to sound snarky, but she means it. It must have been hard when Sonny came home. Carly says, Sonny is home; that’s all that matters. She and Jason are processing, but they know what they want. Britt says, which is? and Carly says, things going back the way they were. Britt says, if part of going back means trying to make things okay with her and Jason, sorry. That’s not going to happen.

Brando tells Sonny, of course Sasha was concerned about the danger, but they’re a team. He couldn’t just ignore it. Let’s be real; it’s not like she was wrong. Sonny says he gets it, and Brando says he and Sasha came to the decision together. Now he wants to focus on making the garage a success. Sonny says he’s going to be great, and Brando says, life is crazy, isn’t it? All the twists and turns. If someone had asked him a few months ago what his life would be like… Sonny says, it wouldn’t be this, and they laugh. Brando says, no. Now the idea of putting in an honest day’s work and coming home to the people he loves just feels right. Sonny says, there are perks to the simple life, and Brando says, but it’s not for everyone. Take Sonny. His life is anything but simple.

Nina thanks Sasha for being so kind, and says she doesn’t deserve it, but it means the world. Sasha says, now that she’s about to be a mom, it’s really sunk in how horribly wrong she was to pretend to be Nina’s daughter. If her child was taken somehow, she can’t imagine it, but Nina can because of her. She’s so sorry. Nina says Sasha will be a fantastic mother, and Sasha says she hopes so. Nina says she knows so, and Sasha says, if that’s true, in large part it’s because of Nina. It may not have been real, but Nina showed her what it looks like to be a kind, loving mother. Even after Nina knew what she’d done, and Nina should have despised her, Nina still showed compassion. She means it. If not for Nina and Carly, she’d still be on drugs. Nina doesn’t know about that, but Sasha says, Carly sat her down, and gave it to her straight, then Nina reached out and really cared. That changed everything for her. Maybe Nina and Carly aren’t as far apart as Nina thinks. Nina says, maybe they weren’t then, but they certainly are now.

Jax says he wasn’t living in Port Charles when Hayden was shot, but Shawn says he’s more interested in Jax’s impression of Hayden and Nikolas when they were working together. Before Hayden disappeared. Jax says Hayden and Nikolas’s relationship was contentious to say the least. But Nikolas was in a bad place then. He was unpredictable, and scared Hayden so badly, she left town. Shawn says, Nikolas was the reason Hayden left?

Nikolas says it’s his fault, and Alexis says, of course (🍷) it is. That’s why he came to talk to his Aunt Alexis, so she’ll tell him how it is. He asks, how is it? and she says, he let his son believe he was dead. She gets that he wanted the Cassadine fortune, but that can’t trump his relationship with his own son. He hurt Spencer. He says, and Spencer hurt him right back, and Alexis says, Spencer was always good at pranks, but this one is at a whole new level. She wonders if Spencer knows the gravity of what he’s done, and Nikolas says, Ava said something that stuck with him. She said she wasn’t sure if Spencer was sorry for his actions, or sorry they didn’t work. Alexis says she knows the pain of feeling like you failed, but he hasn’t failed. He and Spencer will work it out. Nikolas says, Spencer is gone from his life because he threw Spencer out. She says, that’s the worst thing he could have done.

Josslyn says she, Cameron, and Spencer have been friends their whole lives, and Esme says, that’s really beautiful. Josslyn says, if Spencer is truly sorry, then yes, she’ll find a way to forgive him. Life’s too short. Esme says, that’s all she asks, and Cameron asks if Josslyn is okay after talking to Nina. Josslyn says, it was intense, and she’ll fill him in later. Esme tells them, talk now. She’s headed inside to get coffee. She thanks Cameron, putting her hand on his shoulder. She goes into Kelly’s, and Josslyn says, wow. That girl will say or do anything, won’t she? Her whole contrite act, crying on Cameron’s shoulder. Did she really think they’d buy it? Cameron says, she doesn’t?

Spencer says he’s bad at apologizing; he hasn’t done it much in his life. Trina says, it’s a start, but you can’t just say you’re bad at something. You actually have to get better. He says he told her that he deserves anything she throws at him, but she says, that’s not the same as actually saying he’s sorry. He says he is sorry, and she says, for what? He says, that he took it this far, and that he let her get caught up in it. She says, he could have stopped when he saw her at the gallery, but he says, the sprinklers were already set to go off. She says, then he could have taken off his stupid mask. Does he know how scared she was? She thought he was going to hurt her or worse. It’s pretty obvious that at no point in his plan did he think of anyone else. There are so many ways he could played it. He didn’t want her to see his face, fine. He could have told her that she wasn’t in any danger, but he didn’t care. She was nobody to him. He says, she’s not nobody.

Nikolas tells Alexis, his son is only 18, and came up with an elaborate plan to terrorize Ava. First hiding, not telling Nikolas that he was back in Port Charles. Then, face-to-face unrelenting, even when he saw all the pain he was causing. He’s a true Cassadine. Alexis says, which is exactly why Spencer needs his father right now, and Nikolas says, what Spencer did was unconscionable. She asks what Nikolas calls what he did. Spencer is just acting like Nikolas. Slamming the door in his face isn’t a solution. Spencer needs guidance, not abandonment. This is no time for Nikolas to turn his back.

Spencer takes Trina’s hands, and says she’s the opposite of nobody. He knew it the moment he laid eyes on her. She asks if he means right before he covered her in fake blood, and pulls away from him. He says, the way she stood up to him. She got in his face and whipped out that pepper spray without flinching, even though she knew it was empty. She says she’s so glad her terror is a fond memory for him, and he says, and the way she bounced back. She refused to let him ruin her night, and he thought she was so cool. It proved she was someone worth knowing. She says, or someone to cover up for him when she figured out who he really was, and he says he’s sorry he lied. She says, about everything? and he says, no, not everything. He wasn’t lying when he told her the guy at the gallery was a jerk. And he wasn’t lying when he said it never should have happened to her. Tell him she believes him. She says, believes what? That he’s even capable of telling the truth?

Cameron tells Josslyn, all he’s saying is Esme seemed genuinely upset, and she says, Esme can seem like a lot of things. He asks if she doesn’t think Esme cares for Spencer, and she Josslyn says, if she did, why would she try to turn Spencer against them and put Spencer’s father in danger by lying to Sonny? He says, she apologized for that, and by the way, she didn’t lie. She thought Avery was going with Nikolas and Ava, and why wouldn’t she? Avery is Ava’s daughter. She says, he really believes Esme? and he says, why bother coming up with a cover story? Spencer is obviously crazy for her (boy, is that the right word). She doesn’t need their seal of approval. Josslyn says she’s gets a vibe from Esme, and doesn’t like it. She thinks Esme is using Spencer. He says, for what? and she says, Spencer is richer than God. He says, so is Esme, and she asks how they know that. Because she said so? Think about it. What do they actually know about her? He tells Josslyn, say she’s right; Esme’s after the money. After Spencer’s money was cut off, shouldn’t she be dumping him? Why is she still in Port Charles?

Inside Kelly’s, Esme answers her phone, and says, this is she… Really? She got the internship at Spring Ridge?… Thank you so much. She can’t wait to get started.

Jax tells Shawn, Hayden ran because she thought Valentin was after her, but it was Nikolas who wanted her gone. He’s surprised Elizabeth never mentioned it. Hayden disappeared years after she got shot, but who knows if the two things are connected? Shawn says, if they are, this will be complicated, and Jax asks, how? Shawn asks if Jax thinks Alexis will think it’s okay that he’s investigating her nephew. Alexis is the reason he’s out of prison. He owes her everything. Jax says, Alexis, of all people, would want to know the truth. Shawn thanks Jax for his time. Jax says, no problem, and Shawn leaves.   

Britt says, Jason is an amazing guy, and Carly says, he’s the best. Britt says, the time she spent with him was wonderful, and Carly says, Britt doesn’t want it back? Britt says, no. She’s sorry for what happened to Carly, and sorry for Jason and what happened with them almost marrying, then Sonny… It’s super complicated, but for her it was a blessing. Carly says, losing Jason was a blessing? and Britt says, because if she’d let herself fall for Jason, and then realized Carly would always come first – and she does mean always – she would have lost her mind.

Nina tells Sasha, Carly thinks it was only about revenge, but it wasn’t. During the initial phone call, when she tried to tell Carly, she gave in to a bad impulse, but had intended to call back the next day, and tell Carly about him. Sasha asks why she didn’t, and Nina says, it quickly became less about Carly, and more about Nixon Falls and how happy Sonny was. She created this whole world that she got swept up in. It had nothing to do with Carly. She felt bad about keeping the secret, but she wasn’t doing it to get back at Carly. It’s really hard to explain. Sasha thinks she understands. Nina was really happy there, wasn’t she? Nina flashes back to dancing with Sonny, and says she was. Sasha laughs, and says, it’s hard to imagine Sonny as a bartender. Nina says, he was just different without the weight of the mob being on his shoulders. Sasha says, in what way? and Nina says, way lighter, more joyful, more at peace. Sasha says, she thinks Brando feels the same way.

Sonny says he respects Brando’s determination to make it on his own, and Brando says, that’s a stretch. He only has the garage because of Sonny. Sonny says Brando definitely earned it, and Brando says he may not need a job, but he could use some pointers in the dad department. He always knew Sonny was a good one, but seeing Sonny’s family try to move on, and seeing how big a hole Sonny left in their lives, drove it home for him. Sonny is irreplaceable. Sonny thanks him, and says, parenting isn’t something you can prepare for. You can read all the books, but the only way to do it, is to do it. Brando already knows what the most important thing is. Brando asks, what’s that? and Sonny says, nothing is more important than family.   

Cameron and Josslyn sit down outside Kelly’s, and he asks how it was talking to Nina. She says, it was awful, but she said what she wanted to say, so there’s that. He says he’s proud of her, and she says she knows he wants to get off the subject of Spencer and Esme – so does she – but Esme is seriously sounding off alarm bells for her. She knows Spencer is capable of some ridiculous crap, but sending that bear to Avery and torching Ava’s car was next level. He says, Spencer’s dad made him believe he was dead. Maybe Spencer was just that angry. She says, or Esme took it upon herself to raise the stakes, and now Spencer is being forced to cover for her.

Spencer says he is capable of telling the truth, and truly wants Trina to forgive him. She asks why he cares, and he says, because he cares about what she thinks. He cares about her. She says, convenient timing, now that everyone hates him. He says, the timing may be suspect, but it’s still the truth. He was hoping, and still is, to be her friend… because she’s his. She’s the only friend who didn’t know him as Spencer the Cassadine heir. Or Spencer the orphan, or Spencer the ATM… She says, or Spencer the jerk? and he says, that too. He’s sorry he manipulated her, and even more sorry he hurt her. Please believe him. She asks how she can believe anything he has to say ever, and Ava asks if everything is all right. Trina says she has to go, and Spencer says he’ll take her to the launch, but she says she’d rather go alone. She leaves, and Ava says, now she has Spencer all to herself. It’s so much more civil to look your enemy straight in the eye. Doesn’t he agree? He nods, sort of.  

Nina tells Sasha that she’s glad to hear Brando is out of the family business, now they’re about to become parents. Sasha is going to have a baby; can she believe it? Sasha says, no, and Nina asks how she’s feeling. Sasha says, she’s okay. Her blood pressure had been high, and she was put on bedrest, but she’s better now. She can finally leave the house. It turns out that she’s not meant for lounging around all day. Nina asks how things are going on the Brando front, and Sasha says, everything is great. Brando walks in, and Sasha says, look who it is. Nina asks if his ears were burning, and Sasha says they were just talking about him. He says, good things he hopes, and Sasha says, only the best. He gives her a smoothie, and tells her, from Perks, extra spinach, no ginger. Nina says she remembers Sasha liking ginger, and Sasha says, she does, but the baby doesn’t. Nina says, of course (🍷), and Sasha asks what Brando’s been up to. He says he went to see Sonny.

Britt says, look at the number Jason did on Sam, and Elizabeth, and Carly says, there are two sides to that story. Britt says, sure, Elizabeth moved on, but she’s heard enough hospital gossip and seen it for herself that Elizabeth still carries a torch for Jason. Not that it’s ever going to happen for her, because Carly is his top priority. Carly says, if Britt thinks she’s selling her on the fact that she doesn’t want him… and Britt says, if Carly thinks she’s selling her on the fact that she’s being magnanimous in gifting him back to her, please. What that tells her is that Carly still thinks she’s in control of Jason’s life, and Carly says, in control, no, but she is part of his life and won’t step aside. Accepting her is the price of admission. Isn’t Jason worth the price of admission? Britt says, no. Coming in second doesn’t work for her. She starts to leave, and Carly says, she gets it; she really does. It’s Britt’s life and Britt’s choice, but Jason is a hard habit to break. Britt says, not for her, and the elevator opens. Sonny gets out and Britt passes him, saying, Mr. Corinthos, hello! very animatedly. Carly asks how Sonny’s talk with Phyllis went, and he says, good. They’re lucky to have her as a friend. He hopes Carly doesn’t mind, but he told her that she could stay at the MetroCourt. Carly says, of course (🍷). But sadly, their bartender can’t compare to the Tan-O’s.  

Alexis tells Nikolas, do better and be better for his son. Nikolas says if he’s such a terrible role model, maybe his son is better off without him. She tells him, stop whining, and he says, Spencer said himself that he’d done all these terrible things because he loves Nikolas. Alexis asks if that isn’t what he said when he played dead all those years? He did it for Spencer? He says, it’s the Cassadine way, but she says, no. The Cassadine way is to discard those who don’t fall in line. Fight for his kid. He made some horrible decisions, but he’s a good man. Stay in there and teach his son to be a good man too. No lying down.

Spencer tells Ava that he never said she was his enemy, and she says he didn’t have to say it. She’s sure he’s heard the expression, actions speak louder than words, and his actions were deafening. They ultimately failed, and she’s still here. He doesn’t have to like her, but he does have to hear her when she says, this is over. There will be no more attacks or scare tactics ever again. He says, it’s not like anyone got hurt. He was just trying to teach her a lesson. She says, he doesn’t think being separated from her child hurt? He doesn’t think her planning to leave Avery behind hurt? He says she fired the first shot, when she refused to testify against Valentin. She chose her face over his father. She says, as they discussed, she was wrong, but that didn’t give him the right to terrorize her. He says he’s sorry he took it this far, but he’s not sorry he went after her. She’s bad for his father; that’s just a fact. She says his father disagrees with him. She’s his wife, and she’s not going anywhere. If Spencer ever comes after her or Avery again, there will be hell to pay – a hell unlike anything he’s ever witnessed. Does he get her?

Cameron tells Josslyn that he has to get back to work, but he just wants to add one thing. She said herself that she’s known Spencer since forever. Is it possible that she wants to push the blame on Esme because she doesn’t want to blame a friend? She says, possible, but highly doubtful, and he says he’ll see her later. Esme watches, and goes over to Josslyn. She says Josslyn is really lucky to have Cameron; he’s an amazing guy. Josslyn agrees he is, and asks what Esme wants. She says she just wants Spence to be happy, and Josslyn says, that’s it? Esme says, that’s it, but to be happy, he needs his friends. Cameron seems ready to put all this behind them. Can’t Josslyn do the same? Josslyn says she told Esme that she’s not giving up on Spencer, so… Esme says, just on her. She might not be Josslyn’s favorite person, but she and Spence are a package deal. Cameron accepts that, and Josslyn would be wise to do that too. Josslyn asks, what is that supposed to mean? and Esme says, just this; she’d hate for Josslyn to be left behind. Esme passes Trina on her way out, and says hi. Trina asks Josslyn, what was that? and Josslyn says, nothing good.

Spencer says he’s not intimidated by Ava. He won’t let her poison his father against him. She says his father’s relationship with him is up to his father. Nikolas knows she’ll deal directly with him. He asks how she’s going to do that, when two cops walk in, and tell Ava that the housekeeper let them in. Spencer says they can’t just waltz in there, but Ava says she called them. He says, she called the police to have him thrown out? but she says, don’t be silly. She called the police to have him arrested – for harassment, criminal mischief, and breaking and entering. He’s about to face the consequences of what he’s done.   

Shawn comes into the visitor room, and asks if he’s interrupting, but Nikolas says he has to get going. Alexis tells Nikolas to think about what she said. She believes in him. Nikolas leaves, stopping to exchange looks with Shawn on his way out the door.

Brando asks Sasha if it was weird of him, bringing up Sonny in front of Nina. She says, it was bound to happen. She just hopes her friendship with Nina doesn’t cause problems for him and his family, but he says he can handle his family. She says, good answer, and they get in the elevator.

Nina flashes back to kissing Sonny.

Sonny says Brando asked his advice on fatherhood, and Carly says she’s not surprised. He is one of the best. He says, one of the? and she says, yes. Of course (🍷) she has to include Michael in that. Her phone beeps, and she says she has a meeting she forgot about. It won’t take long. Will he wait here for her? He says he’d wait anywhere for her, and she leaves. He goes over to Jax at the bar, and Jax says, welcome home. Sonny asks if Jax missed him, and Jax says, Josslyn did. Sonny says, since he’s here, they have a lot to chat about.

Tomorrow, Shawn tells Alexis that she might have the wrong Cassadine, Nina tells Phyllis that she has to find a way to forget Mike, Jax says Sonny is an obstacle, and Carly tells Jason that she wants Nina to know what it’s like to lose something she loves. And I hate Carly, but you knew that already.

Below Deck Mediterranean

Two hours before charter. Captain Sandy radios the crew to meet in the main salon. She says, some of them, or maybe all of them, know that she sent Lloyd to shore for an EKG. She wants them to send him positive thoughts. Even if he can’t come back, they have to make sure to keep up the momentum. In Malia’s interview, she says her first concern is Lloyd, but being down a crew member, and interior having chosen to be down a crew member, they have zero room for error. The captain says, the guests are boarding on anchor, and it’s the first time they’ll be doing it this season. Let’s do it. In Katie’s interview, she says when she chose to go down to two stews, she didn’t know they’d be down a deckhand as well. The plan now is just to survive. Malia tells David that she’ll take Lloyd’s watch, and he’ll be on deck in the morning by himself. In David’s interview, he says he’ll be there to help wherever he can. He wants to be there to help push them through. Captain Sandy radios for the crew to proceed to the aft deck.

The guests are ferried out to the boat. Primaries Ian and Janelle introduce themselves, along with the rest of the guests. Captain Sandy says she’s hoping the weather holds for them. Katie will show them around, and they’ll be on their way. The guests clink champagne glasses, and Katie gives them the tour, including the galley. Ian asks where Mathew’s hairnet is, which is a joke, since Mathew is bald. In Mathew’s interview, he says, game on. Anchor is pulled up, and the captain says they’re good to go. Mzi and Courtney dance around, chanting, we got this. Guest Michael doesn’t take long to knock over his wine glass, and in Courtney’s interview, she says, they seem rowdy. Malia makes the same statement to her deckhands, and thinks the interior will need help. In Mathew’s interview, he says he gets insecure when he gets criticism. Now, all he can think of is the fish he served Captain Sandy. Hopefully, he can get his head out of only thinking about brown fish. Katie serves lunch, and Courtney steams clothes. One of the guests thinks the fish is bland, and another asks for hot sauce. In Katie’s interview, she says, f***. She knows she’s not going to get a good reaction from Mathew. At the end of the day, she’s just doing her job, and he needs to do his. The doctor calls with an update on Lloyd, and tells the captain that they did an EKG. Everything is in order, but she wants to observe him for another hour, and see where it goes. Captain Sandy asks if she knows what caused it, and the doctor says, it was a panic attack, but Lloyd is fine now. I can understand this, since I’ve had panic attacks. They’re really no joke, and it does feel like you’re having a heart attack. In the captain’s interview, she says she’s so relieved. She knows they’re shorthanded, but she’d like Lloyd to get a good night’s sleep, and join them in the morning. She doesn’t want to rush him.

Katie tells Mathew that the guests like everything, but the fish needs more flavor. Mathew says he just wants to cry, and Katie says he can cry in three days. In his interview, Mathew says he thought every piece was perfect, and tells Katie that he’s sorry he ruined the charter, not exaggerating too much. Anchor is dropped, and Mathew tells Courtney, it’s going to be sh*t this trip. Guest Ronnie gets in a wetsuit and on a jet ski, along with another guest. In David’s interview, he says he gives these guests a ten out ten for effort with the water toys, but a one out of ten for natural ability. They’re an accident waiting to happen. Captain Sandy tells Malia, so crazy, huh? Thank God it’s the last charter. Courtney asks Katie about the anniversary dinner, and Katie says she got a really cool balloon heart. Courtney says she’s been thinking about a rap for the talent show. The balloons come, and they’re shaped like a heart, half red, half white. The guests all dress in white for dinner, and Katie asks Malia to turn on the hot tub for later. Mathew tells Katie not to be mad if the guests hate the filet mignon and lobster. I’m not sure what there is to hate there, but I guess Mathew is on a roll. Ian’s wife and co-primary Janelle tells Katie, it’s what they had at their wedding, and Captain Sandy comes by, asking how the dinner is.  

Janelle tells the captain that it’s what they had at their wedding, even though Mathew couldn’t have known. Everyone thinks the food is delicious, and in her interview, Captain Sandy says, they love Mathew’s food again. He’s been riding a roller coaster the entire season. We flash back to Mathew leaving, Mathew coming back, and Mathew’s multiple freak outs. The captain says she wants to end on a high note, considering everything they’ve been through. She thinks they’re headed in the right direction. Mathew tells Katie, thank God he’s back in the guests’ good graces. David helps clean up the galley, and in Malia’s interview, she says they’ve been working around the clock; doing their deck responsibilities even though they’re down one, and helping everywhere else. It’s been a lot. Janelle tells Katie that they’re going to be up a while. The guests go to the lounge, and order drinks. Katie tells Courtney to go bed. Save herself. The guests play cards and drink. Katie cleans when she’s not busy serving, and Mzi says, crazy wind; crazy guests. David helps dry dishes.

Lloyd calls Mzi, and tells him that he’d had a panic attack. Mzi says, the cabin is lonely. In Mzi’s interview, he says, Lloyd is the purest guy he’s ever met. It’s hard to find people like that. Guest Deborah calls for Katie, singing her name. In Katie’s interview, she says she chose to have only two stews. She’s in an impossible situation, but she still stands by her decision. Now she needs to prove herself right, and she’s got her work cut out for her. The guests finally go to bed, and so does Katie, at 4:32 am.   

Ostrica, Croatia, Day Two of Charter. Mathew asks Malia if Lloyd is coming back, and Malia says he texted that he’s feeling better. They need him for the talent show. The crew has rented an Airbnb for after the season, and in Courtney’s interview, she says she can’t wait for this charter to end, so she can be with her friends off the boat. She doesn’t know how they’ll be after this charter, and hopes they still like each other. The wind kicks up, and in Malia’s interview, she says, bad weather is the crew’s worst nightmare, since the guests will be inside 24/7. Breakfast is served, and Lloyd returns. In her interview, Malia says she’s relieved. Not just because she needs Lloyd, but she’s worried about him. The captain radios the crew that Lloyd made it back on board.

A putting green is set up, and Mzi offers to play with the guests. Malia makes beds, and the captain catches Lloyd having a cigarette in the rain. She kindly offers for him to come where it’s dry to smoke. Mzi’s golf skills amaze the guests, and in his interview, he says that he may be a green deckhand, but he’s effing good at golf. His mom is a professional, and he’s been playing since he was seven. Captain Sandy tells Lloyd that she knows the panic attack didn’t happen over nothing, and he says he’s having anxiety over the season ending, but she tells him that he’ll be okay. She’ll give him her number, and if he ever runs into anything, he can call her. The guests play more cards and drink. In Katie’s interview, she says, they’re trying to break her, but it’s giving her enough energy to push through. She doesn’t step down from a challenge. Lloyd goes around, and says hi to everyone.

David says he has to work on his emcee skills, and in his interview, he says, if he’s drunk enough, he’s quite a good karaoke singer, but only Aladdin or The Lion King. In Mathew’s interview, he says, after a rocky start, the train is back on the tracks. Captain Sandy is going to be at dinner, and last time, it wasn’t perfect. It puts him in that headspace again. Courtney practices her rap, and in Malia’s interview, she says, it’s a weird thing to ask them to do. They’re not there to be the guests’ entertainment; they’re there to do their jobs. If any of them had a good talent, they wouldn’t be in yachting.

Lloyd passes out scorecards to the guests, and does a bit on English slang. He introduces Mzi, who does tricks with a golf ball and iron. Malia does a handstand, and walks a few steps. David explains that he’s not talented with audience stuff, but does this thing where he hops on one leg while holding the other, somehow jumping over the held leg. I know I’m not explaining it very well, but the guests were impressed. Katie comes out with Courtney, and says, they’re Katie and Coco. They do a rap that includes something about everyone, guests and crew. In Katie’s interview, she says, she’s cringing, but she’s just happy that the guests are happy. She’ll leave the rapping to the OGs. Dr. Dre can have this one. Regardless, they get the most points, and are the winners. The guests sit for dinner.

The captain joins the guests, and Janelle remarks on Katie’s beautiful table setting. I agree Katie decorates a table beautifully – this one in silver, blue, and white – but she’s got a more formal style than Kate, who’s more Bohemian with her tablescapes. Ian asks what’s the worst dinner the captain has been at, and Captain Sandy says, it wasn’t the worst, but the wildest was Johnny Damon. We flash back to that, and one of the guests says, Johnny is a great dude, but starts drinking like the old baseball players. I’m not quite sure what that means, but I guess they drank themselves stupid. Lloyd and David get out the beach picnic stuff. Captain Sandy tells the guests, if she drank with them, they wouldn’t get back to the dock. Guest Crystal wonders if the microgreens are beet related, since she’s tasting all kinds of beets going on. The captain goes to the galley, and tells Mathew that a guest has questions. He comes up to the table, and tells Crystal that the microgreens were called blood something, and she says they remind her of beets. He offers her a different plate, and when he gets back to the galley, googles it. He tells Katie, they’re bull’s blood beets. He f***ed up, and basically lied unintentionally. They quickly look on the preference sheet, and Crystal is only allergic to alfalfa sprouts. Captain Sandy thanks the guests, and thanks Mathew. He asks if the guests are upset, but she says, she loved it; it was delicious. In her interview, the captain says she wants to make sure Mathew knows they’re happy with his performance. No matter how great it is in every other area, he goes to the criticism. She wants to make sure he stays focused.

In David’s interview, he says he knows he took a lot of pressure off Malia. He knows she appreciates his efforts on deck, and he appreciates her as a bosun, workmate, and friend. The guests have more drinks, and in Katie’s interview, she says she’s going to be up again until four, isn’t she? Mathew feels bad that the guests didn’t look happy, and Katie says, there’s nothing he can do. He says he can complain to her, and she says she’s working 19 hour days. It doesn’t matter. It amazes me how much stuff they have on the boat in the way of provisions, since the guests are asking for all kinds of odd combinations, and they have everything. Ian asks Katie if Mathew can whip up some snacks, and she says he’s gone to bed, but she’ll make something. She sees Mathew is still in the galley, but tells him that she’ll make some crisps and sh*t. In her interview, she says, the last day of the charter season is tomorrow. She’s so exhausted. The whole crew is exhausted. She f***ed up. She made a mistake.

In the morning, Mathew says he needs to change his vibe. Courtney sets the table for breakfast, and Malia says, it’s the last day, and they know what’s coming – the beach picnic. Katie tells Mathew that they’re seeing how far the picnic area is, so they can make a plan. It’s the last day; come on. She asks if Mathew is good, but he says, no. In his interview, he says he’s still upset about dinner, and hasn’t fully planned what’s on his menu. It sucks. One guest wants toast and coffee, but everyone else’s breakfast order is complicated. I can say with confidence, if I was paying the equivalent of a year’s salary to rent a boat, I’d be having more than toast and coffee. As a matter-of-fact, I’d be eating and/or in that blue, blue water the entire time. Mathew says, what a difficult day it’s going to be. I feel his pain in making the sunny side up eggs. He says, WTF? and makes a mess out of several eggs and an omelet. In his interview, he says, when he was in his 20s, he had the worst breakfast service in his life. He cracked 40 yolks while plating hollandaise. That’s what happens when he’s spiraling. He tells Katie that he’s broken 10 eggs, and it’s going to put him over the edge. Katie says, it’s the last day, and he says he’s going to cry. she says, no, and in her interview, she says, he needs to figure it out, and they need to do their jobs. He says he hates his life right now, and Katie says he’s fine; they’ve got this. Katie tells Courtney that Mathew could lose it, and Courtney tells her not to say that. Mathew says, you effing suck, is repeating in his head, and it’s overwhelming. He asks if Katie will do him a favor and shoot him in the head.

Next time – the finale – no one shows up to serve the guests in the hot tub, and they have to go hunting for staff (the worst possible mistake next to bad food); Katie admits she effed up; Mathew hates the kitchen, and is going to lose it; Malia says they have the perfect place for a picnic – or an execution; and we meet the chef who was in quarantine.

📇 Knocking Off Early…

The week has only just begun, so see you tomorrow for soap and pickleball. Until then, stay safe, stay choosing friends who make you a better person, and stay knowing, nothing is more important than family, even if it’s the family you create for yourself.

October 10, 2021 – Daryl Tells Leah Too Much, Hope Finds Out Her CRM Purpose, Best At the Con & Psycho

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

The Walking Dead

Leah and Daryl join others on a lookout platform, and they see a small horde milling around. Carter wonders why they’re walking around like that, and Pope says, there’s a reason for everything. He asks if Daryl has seen that behavior before, and Daryl says he has, south of there. He suggests he lead the zombies out two miles and double back. Pope says they’ll try it Daryl’s way, but wants to send Wells, who leads the zombies into the woods. Leah radios Wells, saying, hey pied piper, how’s the piping? and he says he’s having a ball. He realizes it’s getting late, and needs to get home, but continues leading the zombies down a path. When he turns around, he sees zombies coming from the other direction. He radios Meridian, and says they have a situation. Pope asks, what kind? and Wells starts killing them, but he’s way outnumbered. They take him down, and one picks up Wells’s radio.

The Alexandrians are holed up in a house, while a storm rages outside. The adults board up the windows, and the kids huddle together. Judith tells them, it’s only thunder; it can’t hurt them. Her mom says that storms are always followed by clear skies. A branch blows through one of the windows, and Judith tells the other kids, stay there. She looks outside, and everything is blowing around. Rosita tells her to back get to the wall.

Leah tries calling Wells, asking if he copies, but only gets silence. She wants to go after him, but Pope tells her, there’s no point. He’s already dead. Leah says she’s seen him kill dozens of zombies, but Pope says, they didn’t kill him. She did. His enemy. She did come back. Leah asks if Pope sent Wells out as bait, and he says, he was a soldier; soldiers sometimes fall. Leah says, Wells was more than a soldier; he was family. Pope says, it’s a sign from God, but Leah says, God didn’t send Wells out there; Pope did. He asks if she disagrees with his decision. She’s had a helluva lot to say as soon as her boyfriend showed up. Is there anything else she wants to share? She says, no, sir, and Pope says, Wells was a son to him. Because of his courage, they now know the enemy is close. He promises they won’t escape this time.

Aaron tells everyone that the wall by the garden center was breached. He hopes it’s just the one. There was also a fire at the windmill, and he wants three teams. He needs one to take on the fire, and Carol says she’ll be on wall detail. Aaron says they’ll also need a team to protect everyone there. He asks for volunteers, and Connie signs that she’ll go, but Magna says she just got back. Connie insists she wants to go with Carol, and Carly says, if she’s up for it, they could use the help. Kelly says, she’s joining them too, and Connie starts to protest, but Kelly says, it’s not up for discussion. Magna says she’ll go with Aaron, and Virgil says he will too. Carol says Virgil can barely stand, and Rosita tells him that she could use help there. Virgil agrees to stay, and Judith volunteers to go, but Carol says she’d prefer if Judith stayed there. Judith says she’s not scared, and Carol tells her that she’d be helping the other kids be less afraid. Aaron says they’ll be back soon. Gracie begs him to stay, and let someone else go, but he says, it’s not fair for him to ask something of someone that he won’t do himself. They groups blow out into the storm.

Daryl tells Pope, the rotters are gone, but he says, she’s not. He asks what Daryl can tell him about Maggie, but Daryl says, not much, and Pope wonders why he’s keeping Daryl around. Daryl says, Pope told him God chose him, and Pope laughs. He says he had this dog he found on the side of the road, starving and half-dead. The thing about some rescues is, sometimes they give you that look, like they’ll lick your hand, then bite it off. Daryl says, don’t worry. He ain’t going to lick Pope. Pope laughs again, and says, there he is. Fair enough. Just don’t try to bite Leah. He’d hate to have to strangle this dog. Leah says, they kept Daryl because he’s an excellent tracker. She’s sure he must have noticed something. Daryl says, she’s a great shot. She has a bullseye lookout. In the trees maybe. Pope says, we’ll see. A guard radios for Pope to go to the lookout.  

They go up to the tower and see a ton of zombies. Pope laughs because everything is funny to him tonight, and he says, somehow she turned the dead against the living. That’s impressive. They won’t get that far. The zombies start to trigger random explosives, and scatter a little.

In Alexandria, Lydia says she needs boards, and they decide to use the furniture. I guess this infiltration was unexpected (as well as the storm), but I’m wondering why some of the windows are wide open. You’d think the first thing they would have done is close them. Or at least close them before they started nailing up boards. Judith tells Gracie, like how you can run faster when you’re scared, you can fight better too. It makes you stronger. Gracie practices, and Virgil tells Judith that her mother would be proud of her. Judith asks if he knows where Michonne went, but he says he’s sorry; he doesn’t. She says she just wishes her mother was here, and Virgil says, she is. He sees her in how Judith holds a sword. How she was ready to run into the storm. In how she talks to the kids. She’s helping them believe in themselves. Her mom can still be with her, and wherever Michonne is, Judith is with her. Gracie practices by one of those open windows, and Judith tells her, be careful. Right on cue, a zombie reaches through, grabbing at Gracie, but Judith cuts its hand off. Rosita and Lydia run back with boards, and start nailing them up. Rosita tells Judith to blow out the candles. More zombies try to get in, since they did such a crap job.

As the zombies set off mines, Pope asks what’s on Leah’s mind. She says, nothing, but he says he knows her better than he knows himself. What? She says she was thinking about the ones they lost, and Pope asks if she blames him. She tells him that she didn’t say that. He says, the black horse of famine rides after us all. In every war there is sacrifice. That’s why they were chosen in the first place; they don’t run from the fire. Wells didn’t die blindly. His sacrifice shows they’re still worth it. That’s why they will prevail. Daryl looks through the binoculars, and sees that some of the zombies aren’t zombies.   

Maggie and Daryl split off, and sneak around outside the walls at Meridian. Daryl comes across the Reaper he shared a cigarette with, and dude says he’s missing the fireworks. Daryl says he was told to walk the perimeter, so he’s walking the perimeter, and asks dude if he wants a smoke. He gives dude a cigarette, and dude says he quit once. He guesses he’ll have to quit again. Daryl asks, why? and drops the matches. When dude bends to pick them up, Daryl stabs him in the throat, and throws him over the wall, where Maggie and Gabriel are waiting. Daryl tells them which way to go, runs to open the door’s padlock, then jets.  

Negan and Elijah get hit with mine blowback, but keep walking. Pope watches, and Leah sees Daryl coming up the stairs. She asks where he’s been, and he says, getting ready, but she says, they won’t need him. The rotters will scatter. He asks if she’s sure about that, and Pope says he’s ready and watching. Daryl asks, what’s happening? and Leah says, this is how they’re going in.

Maggie comes out from under some garbage along with Gabriel. She asks if he remembers, and he says, top floor. She tells him to wait for her signal. They get the food and go home.

The Alexandrians try to hold door shut, and Rosita says she’s going to buy time. On her count, open the door, then close it behind her. She counts to three, and they open the door. She runs at the zombies outside, and Lydia shuts the door. They watch through the windows, as Rosita fights them one by one on the porch. She’s still not done, and goes down the steps. She is not fooling around. Finally finished, she comes back in, drenched.

Gabriel goes into a building, and checks for a secret panel in a closet. He opens it.    

Daryl watches as Leah and another Reaper uncover a whole load of small bombs on a truck platform. Leah tells the Reaper to let her know when he’s ready, and Pope leaves. Daryl says, sorry about Wells, and Leah says he shouldn’t have gone by himself. It was her responsibility. She should have had his back. He always had hers. Her people protect each other. Daryl wonders if he can ask her something. Pope says God chose them. Does she believe him? She asks, why? and he says, just asking. She says she knows how it sounds, but it gives them something to hold onto, after all the lies they’ve believed in. He says, what about now? and she says, it doesn’t matter if she believes him or not; it matters to him. She asks if Daryl ever thinks about what it would have been like if they hadn’t left the cabin, and he says, yeah. She says, it’s hard to watch someone you care about change, and hurting other people you care about. Pope radios her, asking her status, and Leah says they’re ready and standing by. He says, it’s time to do this. He’s on his way. Daryl says he has to tell Leah something. There are people down there, walking with the dead; his people. They’re here for food. They’ll starve without it, and they’re good people and have families. She can’t let them die like this. Leah says he lied to her, and he says, to protect his family. He’s sure she understands. She says Carver told her not to trust him, but she wanted to so badly. What does he think Pope’s going to do when he finds out? He says, Pope doesn’t have to know. She’s got to help him. Pope comes back, and says, it’s time for their enemy to face their reckoning. Oh my, what were Daryl and Leah talking about? Leah says, family, and Pope says, nothing more important. It’s the only thing they’ve got left. Doesn’t Daryl agree? Daryl says, yeah, and Pope says when this is done, he wants Daryl work for him. He’s a good man. Leah looks at Daryl.

Maggie rifles through a car for the keys, but can’t find any, so she hot wires it. She hears a radio, and ducks down. A Reaper runs past, but Maggie gets the engine to turn over and he hears it. He makes a grab for the passenger door, but she peels out, and he gets thrown. Just before it gets to the wall, she jumps out and lets it crash through the wall. Zombies start to come in, and Pope radios the guard, asking, what the hell’s going on? The enemy is inside their walls. Maggie runs, and a guard stabs at the zombies, but there are too many. Pope tells a guard to get ready, and Leah says, they have people out there. Call them back in. Pope says, and let the enemy know? God will protect them. She says, what if He doesn’t? and he says, then it’s their time to die. She says they can win another way, but he says they’re going to win their way, She says Pope is going to kill them, and he says the Lord speaks through him. Don’t question the Lord; don’t question him. Light it up. A Reaper guard lights the fuse, and Daryl takes out a knife, but Leah stabs Pope. Daryl throws the knife at the guard, nailing him, and cuts the fuse.

Maggie runs, and a guard sees her. They fight, and he knocks her down, but someone shoots him before he can get Maggie. It’s Gabriel with a semiautomatic. He starts shooting at Pope’s men, and Pope starts to drag himself along, but Leah kicks him down, and puts her foot on his back. She finishes him off, and Daryl tells her, come on, but she doesn’t go. Instead, she radios Carter, saying, Pope is dead, and Daryl murdered him. He’s with them. Carter says, they’re on their way, and Daryl asks why she did that. She says, he forgot about what matters. Not war, but people, her people. He’d do anything to protect his family. So would she. Daryl hears them coming, and I think he’s going to kill her for a moment, but he jumps over the wall. Carter and another guy run to look over the wall, and Carter says he should have killed Daryl when he had the chance. She tells him to get the gate closed, and he says, then what? She says, then they’re going to kill everything inside the walls. I’m thinking it’s less love of family, and more like she’s power hungry.

Zombies are still beating at the door, and Rosita tells Judith to take the kids upstairs. They go, and Virgil tells Judith not to worry about him, but she leads him upstairs. Lydia and Rosita are left holding the door. Judith looks for Gracie, but can’t find her, because for some ungodly reason, she went down in the basement. Judith heads downstairs, and sees rain pouring in through the windows. Lydia tells Rosita to go, and holds door alone. Judith asks what Gracie is doing, and Gracie says she wanted a weapon, like Judith. Judith cracks a tool handle so it’s now a pokey stick, and gives it to Gracie. They go upstairs, but come face-to-face with a zombie. Judith tells Gracie to go, and they run back to the basement, slamming the door behind them. The zombie bangs at the door.

Maggie and Negan fight zombies, and Daryl joins them. A guard tells Carter to go back, and Negan, still in his skin mask, tells Maggie, sh*t. They are retreating. She wonders why, and they see Leah, stone-faced, watching them from the lookout. She lights up the rockets, and they shoot off in all directions.

Next time, Daryl asks if their choices even matter, and Gabriel says, it depends on who’s making them; and Pamela Milton is introduced. This was the finale part one, so part two is upcoming on 2/20/22.

The World Beyond

After Iris killed the CRM guard, Felix found her, and helped her drag the body into the woods. Some zombies heard them, and Felix took care of them, but forced Iris to shoot one in the eyeball. The eyeball part was her choice.

Iris and Hope’s dad Leo talked with girlfriend Lyla about Hope’s return. He wondered how much he should tell Hope, but Lila said the fact Hope was there was all that mattered. Iris and Felix would be back and safe. No useful data there went to waste. Leo said he should have known it would be a scientific decision, and Lyla said, it saved his daughter’s lives, which gave him hope. Leo made Hope a birthday breakfast, and thought she’d be hungrier, but she said Felix was a good cook. He’d taken good care of them, although she could go without seeing a can of beans for the rest of her life. He asked if she’d been in any danger, and she flashed back to all the stuff that had happened. She said she didn’t want to talk about it, but honestly, the hardest part about being out there was worrying about him, and not knowing if he was hurt. Now that she saw he was okay, it made everything worth it. She wished she knew if Iris and Felix were okay, but he said he was sure they were. He didn’t want to push her, but he hoped she would choose his path. She said now that she was with him, she was without any choice. She asked if she’d have to go along with it, but he said he didn’t know.   

Felix, iris, and Will scoped out zombies at a lake. Iris freezes when she’s about to kill a zombie, thinking she sees it wearing a CRM helmet, but Felix steps in. Iris told Felix that she thought the CRM was behind the destruction of the campus colony, but Felix said, they were talking about a hundred thousand people. Why would they want them dead if they weren’t a threat? Iris thought maybe it had something to do with them wanting Hope. Felix saw how far they went to take her. Will said he’d be lying if he said it hadn’t crossed his mind. They chose a zombie, tied it’s arms down with rope, and Felix used the end of the rope like a leash. They did not explain whatever plan that was part of.

Silas been kidnapped, and taken on a hooded ride by some a guy named Dennis. The hood taken off, he asked where Dennis was going, but Dennis said Silas had nothing to worry about. He added that if Silas tried to fight or escape, it would mean prison for him. I’d say that might be something to worry about.

Elizabeth met with Leo, who told her that Hope wouldn’t settle in until Iris and Felix were found. He wanted to join the search team, thinking them seeing a familiar face would be helpful, but Elizabeth said that wasn’t possible. He said they were out there unprotected, but she told him that Huck was more than capable. He balked at her sending one soldier, but she said Huck meant more to her than any army because Huck was her daughter. He said he wanted his family there tonight, or he was done working for her, but she said he didn’t work for her. He worked for the Civic Republic. She did too, and her job was to protect the CRM and secure resources, of which his daughter was one. She was brought there on the condition that she change, and needed the experience of getting there to see the world as it is. She knew however angry and betrayed Hope was, she’d still work toward what was most important; building knowledge and research to save humanity. He said there was nothing more important than family, and Elizabeth said, but he left his. He broke their laws, and put them at risk. He’d called it an error in judgment, but a word of advice, don’t make any more.

Hope wandered around, and made notes about the security measures she saw. Lyla came over to introduce herself, saying she recognized Hope from the photo on her dad’s desk. She knew Hope’s dad was going to show her around, but he was waiting on update, so Lyla was happy to give her a tour. Hope eyeballed Lyla’s security badge, which was also a key card, and said to show her everything.  

Dennis took Silas into a warehouse, where there was a zombie in a cage, and had him put on a fireman’s jacket. He told Silas to keep moving, and they went through the building and out the back, Dennis picking up what looked like a weeding tool (the claw thing you twist to pull out weeds) on his way out. Outside, three kids were stacking up zombies and poking them in the head with the weeder. One of them told Dennis that they were right on schedule, and Dennis introduced Webb, Tiga, and Grady, telling them that Silas would be joining them in decontamination. They’d be responsible for training Silas and setting him up. A zombie started to sit up, and Dennis instructed Silas to kill it. Silas did, and looked at Dennis like, was that good? Dennis also wanted some reports on his desk, and I thought, you can’t get away from paperwork, even in an apocalypse.

Hope asked Lyla what the place was before, and Lyla said it was government funded educational research, but before that, it had been an old diamond mine. They’d used the lab for experiments that needed to be shielded from sun radiation. Now they were using the lab to pinpoint why the world turned. Hope asked if they were looking for information to cure it, and Lyla said, that was one part. They also wanted to figure out a way to get rid of the ones who’d turned. If they could discover when kept them going and turn off the triggers that motivated their appetite, they could eliminate the dead as a threat. As Hope researched and investigated, she would pass that knowledge onto the next generation. Hope said at 17, they had her whole life planned, and Lyla said they also planned all meals for Hope’s optimum nutrition, and would match her to an ideal genetic mate. Then she laughed and said she was just kidding, but who knows? Hope asked if she could meet Lyla in her dad’s office, since she’d seen a bathroom, and one with four walls was hard to pass up. When Lyla left, Hope snooped around a door that said Authorized Personnel Only. A young guy startled her, and asked if she was the new girl. He introduced himself as Mason, and said he was sorry about what happened to her mom; it was why they wore black armbands. He said if she was curious, he’d show her, and opened the door, but it was just a supply closet. He said they didn’t want people helping themselves without permission.

At the Perimeter, Brody told Indira that Felix, Will, and Iris couldn’t be trusted. Iris had killed a CRM solider, and Will was wanted by the CRM. Felix said they had a plan, but Brody said it was too dangerous, and they hadn’t been forthcoming. Felix shows Brody a CRM notebook with the locations of supply drops and fuel depots, things the military wanted kept secret. Will said if their plan worked, it would protect all of them. They heard the tinkling of the Perimeter’s makeshift alarm, and trucks came up the road. Indira told them to hide now, and Brody covered up the notebook they stupidly left on the desk. Elizabeth got out of a car at the head of the caravan, and told Indira that she wished it was a social visit, but they were looking into something. A breeze blew off the paper hiding the CRM notebook, as Elizabeth was looking around at Indira’s wall art. She told Indira and Brody that a soldier had gone missing, but Indira said they hadn’t seen any new faces around town. Elizabeth pretended to be examining the tapestry covering the doorway to the room where the trio was hiding, but she was interrupted by her radio. One of her people told her that the soldier had been located, and Elizabeth apologized for the intrusion.

Hope looked around her dad’s lab, and Lyla said she’d hope for Leo to fill Hope in, but she wasn’t sure where he was. She did know that Leo loved Hope very much; he was working hard for their future. She’d met parents who felt helpless and wanted to make their children’s lives better, but didn’t have the knowledge, just the desire. They were relying on people like her father. Could she imagine the pressure? Lyla said, even though Leo wasn’t there, he could still fill her in, and put on a video where Leo updated his progress. After some glitches, they were given the ability to record and transmit the dead’s biological responses to environmental stimuli. Lyla said they’d been trying to do this for years, but Leo had cracked it in two months. They already had a trove of data that would open doors and further the avenues of research as to what was infecting the dead. If they were able to modify it, they could accelerate the rate of decay, eliminating them as a threat.

Elizabeth saw her missing soldier, who was really the leashed zombie, now unleashed and really dead, and wearing Will’s jacked. Elizabeth wanted to limit the knowledge of Will’s death to authorized personnel, since Leo didn’t need any more bad news with his daughter missing.

In her father’s room, Hope looked at his research dedication to her and Iris, and got teary. Leo came back, and said he’d meant to straighten up, but she said, it felt like home with stuff everywhere. He asked what she thought of the place, and she said she thought there would be more guard towers and attack dogs. She asked if Lyla was his girlfriend, and he asked if Lyla told her. She said Lyla didn’t have to. She saw Lyla’s stuff in his bathroom, and she’d called him brilliant 89 times. Hope said Lyla was all right, but she was concerned that Iris and Felix weren’t at the retirement home, and hadn’t been found. Felix had said he could barely walk, but if he felt they should move, he’d move. Leo asked if Hope was leaving something out, and said she needed to be honest. What the hell was going on?

Silas worked at killing the walkers/rotters/empties/zombies. He asked what happened there, and Grady said they lured the zombies in with lights and music a few times a week. They blew them up, then cut them up. Silas asked where the parts went, and Grady said they had trucks to take them off-site. Silas also found out the boys had signed on to be part of something bigger. Dennis threw a sleeping bag at Silas, who wondered about what the others meant about being part of something bigger. Dennis said this had been the first place of its kind. Now there were six others, bigger, and they were all state operated by trained military personnel. If everything went right, they could start bringing back energy, agriculture, and commerce. They were a training ground for that, What they were doing was starting over. Silas asked what Dennis did, and Dennis said he was a mechanic who fixed trucks and choppers. He trained others to fix what was broke. He pointed to a trailer, telling Silas it was his. He’d be back in the morning, and until then, Glenn was in charge. Dennis left, and Silas asked Webb where he was going. Webb said he was dropping off a dead one at CRM’s research facility. That place was going to change everything. Grady said he wanted to work there as a guard one day. They asked if Silas knew someone there, maybe a girlfriend, and Tiga said maybe Silas and Dennis had that in common. Silas watched as a CRM helicopter flew above them. 

Dennis drove with a zombie in the bed of his truck. He pulled down his visor, and looked at a picture of himself and Huck.

Felix asked if Iris was okay; she hadn’t said much. She said she worked it out. She wasn’t worried about getting caught, but she was scared she wouldn’t get the chance to hit back at CRM. Felix asked if she was sure she was ready, and she said when she’d killed the soldier, she’d thought she was numb, but she was angry. This is war, even if they don’t know it yet. Felix agreed, and said until they figured out a way to hit back, they’d lay low.  

Lyla and Elizabeth chatted, while a former colleague, now a zombie, was tied to a gurney and muzzled like Hannibal Lecter. Lyla said she thought Hope was coming around, and they might need her help to bring her father around. He was anxious about his missing daughter, but his enthusiasm for CRM had also eroded. They needed Hope to keep him motivated. Elizabeth thought that was what Lyla was for, and Lyla said she was doing her best. Elizabeth hoped her best was good enough – for Leo’s sake and Lyla’s. Lyla wondered when she was getting her next test subject, since it had been a while since her last premortem. She assumed General Beale’s plans were moving ahead as scheduled. Elizabeth assured Lyla that they were, and Lyla looked at the colleague zombie.

Next time, Huck gets called out, and an underground zombie.

🎭 It’s Back, Baby…

It will take more than a little pandemic to keep a good cosplayer down.

https://nypost.com/2021/10/08/new-york-comic-con-all-the-best-fan-costumes/

📊 Monday, Monday…

Whether you’re back to work, zoom, or just staring blankly at your TV, join me tomorrow for some soap and a walk on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay expecting good things, and stay never volunteering to be Pied Piper, unless you’ve piped before.

October 8, 2021 – No Queen, Grilled, Nasty, Worse, Unsure, Dirty, Salt Lake Woes, a Tease, Going Down, New Bar, L.A. Return, Tiger’s Back, Mistress Of the Book, Best Costumes, As Many Quotes As Lords Leaping & Magic

Standard

What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Carly takes a sip of her coffee, and says, this never gets old. Sonny says, the coffee, or this? He kisses her, and she says, don’t make her choose. She suggests they stay home and shut the world out all day. He says, what world? It’s just the two of them. They kiss again, and a guard interrupts, saying, someone is at the gate to see Sonny.

Britt sits down with Nina at the MetroCourt, and says, welcome back. Nina thanks her and says, it’s been quite the homecoming. Any word on Liesl? Britt says, no, not a whisper. It seems her mother disappeared into thin air. Nina says she’s sorry. She can’t help but feel responsible. Britt says, Nina called and got her mother involved in a scheme to kill Peter. She’s sure it wasn’t a hard sell. Nina says, at the moment, it was the only way to protect Maxie and James. Britt says, if that’s all Nina was doing, she’d be on board, but they both know that SOS call was to protect herself.

Portia tells Trina that she likes their new tradition of weekly breakfast check-ins, and Trina says she does too. She’s not thrilled with the dining hall, and she’s already tired of take-out. Portia is glad to contribute to Trina’s healthy eating habits, and asks Trina to tell her about classes. How it is working at Ava’s gallery without Ava? Trina says, it turns out, Ava’s not leaving, and Portia asks, since when? Trina says she’s pretty sure Ava is staying there, and staying married, and Portia says, Trina can’t drop that kind of bomb on her and play coy. What happened with the stalker? Trina says, thanks to her, the stalker’s been unmasked.

Nikolas comes up behind Ava and kisses her on the neck. She says he’d better be her husband; he’s a very jealous man. He says he’s her husband all right. For now and for always. She says, it’s going to be a beautiful day, and he says, a beautiful life. He’s never letting her go again. That’s a promise.

The guard says, Mr. Corinthos is in the living room, and he leads Phyllis in, carrying a box. Sonny says, what a pleasant surprise, and she says, my goodness, look at you. He introduces her to Carly, saying she’s a dear friend of Mike’s and his. He and Phyllis smile at each other.

Josslyn tries to study at the Kelly’s counter, when Cameron brings her a glass of ice water. She asks if it has magical properties that will help her focus, and he says he can’t stop thinking about yesterday too. He can’t get over the fact that Spencer was the stalker. Trina was so right; he shouldn’t have given them so much pushback. She says, Trina was the one who figured it out, and Cameron asks how Trina is doing. She seemed pretty beat up about it. Josslyn says they were up half the night talking about it. She feels awful about setting a trap for Spencer. She’s not happy about it either, but if they hadn’t, Ava and Nikolas still wouldn’t know the truth. He says he guesses it was worth it, but she says he doesn’t sound all that convinced. He says, Nikolas has Ava back, but Spencer’s life just imploded. Did they end up helping that family, or just hurt them? She says, both.

Spencer walks into his and Esme’s hotel room. Still in bed, Esme asks where he was. He says, working out, and she says, so early? Did he sleep at all? He says, no. Every time he closed his eyes, he kept replaying the whole train wreck. It never should have happened. She says she doesn’t know what possessed him to confess, and he says his father was in danger. She says he had nothing to do with his Uncle Sonny turning up, and he says, no, but she did. Why the hell would she tell his uncle, the alleged mob kingpin, that his father was taking his daughter away?

Nikolas’s phone beeps, and he looks at it. Ava asks if something is wrong, and he says, it’s an alert he placed on Spencer’s credit card. Apparently, he’s holed up at the MetroCourt. She asks how he feels about that, and he says he’s glad Spencer didn’t spend the night on the street. But given the fact Spencer robbed them of months together, he can think of better ways of spending their first reunited morning than discussing Spencer. He’ll make breakfast.

Carly says, so she’s Phyllis, and thanks Phyllis for taking care of her husband when he was injured. Phyllis says, it was their pleasure. Mike… Sonny was a godsend to them in more ways than one. Carly says, it goes both ways. Sonny has told her a lot about Phyllis. She’s so sorry about Phyllis’s husband. She thanks Carly, calling her Mrs. Corinthos, but she says, call her Carly. Had they known she was coming, they could have spared her the security check. Phyllis says, it’s a beautiful home. Much different from his room at the Tan-O. Carly asks if Phyllis drove in, and Phyllis says she did. She was on the road too early to call. She hopes she didn’t intrude. She found some of Sonny’s belongings, and thought he might want them. Wow. His flannel shirts survived the fire?

Nina tells Britt, she feels terrible. If there’s anything she can do to help find Aunt Liesl, please let her. Britt says she’ll take the help; Scotty’s beside himself. Nina says she also got a voicemail from Valentin. He and Anna have a lead on Peter, but he didn’t give her any details. How is Britt otherwise? Britt says she’s busy. She’s throwing herself into work; restructuring the hospital budget, working with her new Co-Chief of Staff, keeping her head above water. Nina says, and Britt and Jason? Britt asks what she’s talking about. There is no her and Jason. Nina says, and that’s because of her.

Portia asks Trina, so the young man she met at the park was Spencer, not Victor, and Spencer was Ava’s stalker? Trina says, Spencer and his girlfriend, and Portia asks, which one drenched Trina in the fake blood? Trina says, Spencer, and Portia says, hell no. Trina protests, but Portia asks when all this went down. Last night? Trina says, yes, Spencer got kicked out of Windymere, and his relationship with his father is worse than ever, and it’s her fault. Portia says, in what universe? and Trina says she convinced Cam and Joss to set him up. If she hadn’t… Portia tells her not to finish that sentence. Trina’s not responsible, and it’s not her fault. This is Spencer’s mess; it has nothing to do with Trina. Trina says she just feels bad for him, and also guilty that she wasn’t honest with Ava. Portia asks why Trina would feel guilty? Thanks to her, Ava knows the truth now, and Ava can stay here with her husband and little girl. Although she might want to let that marriage dissolve. Clearly the Cassadine men are not to be trusted.

Esme tells Spencer that she’s sorry for how things turned out. She was only doing it for him. He says he knows. That’s why he defended her, but some of the ideas she came up with… She says, getting his father back in his life was what he wanted, so she did what she could to make that happen. She guesses she’s still learning how to make him happy. He says she really is the best, and nothing that has happened is her fault. But he’d be happier if they cut out the scheming, and did better. She says, whatever he wants. Too bad he can’t count on his so-called friends. What were they thinking, especially Josslyn? Doesn’t that girl have enough to worry about without setting him up and calling him out? He says, Josslyn is a real friend; so’s Cameron. They’re probably the only real friends he’s ever had.

Josslyn tells Cameron, they totally ambushed Spencer, but if his behavior hadn’t been so messed up, there’d be nothing to confess. Cameron says, her stepdad is one menacing dude. Spencer was absolutely terrified for his father. She says, everyone knows not to mess with Sonny, especially when it comes to his family, but none of that would have happened except for Esme. He says he doesn’t see how she’s to blame for the lie about Bora Bora, and she asks if he’s giving Esme a pass. He says, not at all. They both bear responsibility. She says, Trina told her that Spencer and Esme work as a team. Every team she’s ever been on has a captain. It makes her wonder if Esme is the one calling the shots.

Cameron asks what makes Josslyn think Esme is more involved than Spencer is saying. She says, Spencer admitted Esme was the one who torched Ava’s car, and Cameron says, he did at first, but then he walked it back. She says, to protect her. Does that surprise him? She’s seen the way Esme hangs on Spencer. No wonder he can’t think straight. He says, this is Spencer they’re talking about; he’s no angel. She says, this is so messed up. She knows Spencer set it in motion – everything he did was bad, but she still wants what’s best for him. He says, what if Esme is what’s best for him? but she says, no. Esme brings out the worst in Spencer.

Esme asks why Spencer isn’t furious. First, they set him up, then stand by and watch him humiliate himself. He says, he humiliated himself? and she says, he confessed and he apologized. He says she’s forgetting the part where they’re actually guilty, and she says, fine. They’re no innocents, but his real friends aren’t either. They lied to his face, and set a trap that almost got his father killed. His father kicked him out of Windymere, while his wicked stepmother gloats. If they expect Spencer to beg forgiveness, they’d better think again. They’re the ones who should be coming to him. There’s a knock at the door, and a woman asks if he’s Spencer Cassadine. She’s sorry, but his credit card was declined for the second night. Esme says, there’s more than enough funds… but he says, there’s no need. This isn’t a fund problem; it’s a father problem. The woman says, they contacted the account holder, Nikolas Cassadine, and the card’s been canceled. He says, checkmate, and Esme asks what this means. He says, it means they pack.

Nikolas tells Ava, breakfast is in the dining room, unless she would rather have it served in the bedroom. She tells him to choose, and he says, the bedroom it is. She asks what the call was that he made earlier, and he says he cut Spencer’s access to his bank and credit card accounts. She says she’s all for tough love, but if Nikolas cuts Spencer off, what will he do? He says, Spencer’s about to figure it out. His son’s been given every possible advantage. He’s bright, he’s willful, let him put that cunning to good use, and figure out how to support himself. She says, that sounds fine in theory, but the timing is terrible. Won’t Spencer see this as punishment, and won’t it further stoke his dangerous resentment?

Trina tells Portia that Ava told her to be careful of bad boys. Spencer falls under that definition, except he’s not that bad. At heart, she thinks he’s just lost. Portia tells her, says every woman in defense of a dysfunctional relationship with a bad boy. She was at the hospital that night when Ava’s car was burned. She sat with Ava afterward, and Ava couldn’t stop shaking. And to leave Kiki’s ID badge near the car? That’s just cruel. Trina says, Spencer didn’t do it. She doesn’t even think it was his idea. Portia says Trina certainly seems determined to let him off the hook, and Trina says she’s not denying Spencer’s made some seriously mess up choices. Portia says, anyone who asks you to cover for them isn’t your friend. Remember what Maya Angelou said, when someone shows you who they are… Trina finishes, believe them. She’s sorry she didn’t tell Portia about this earlier; there’s just been a lot going on. Portia says, even though Trina will always be her baby, she’s a young woman now, and she’s entitled to privacy. But Portia can proudly say, Trina has always had a good head on her shoulders.

Carly says Obrecht was devastated when she heard Jason got engaged to Carly because she knew how important Jason was to Britt. Britt says, that’s old news now, and Nina says, if she hadn’t kept Sonny away from Port Charles… Britt says Nina might have hurt a lot of other people, but Nina did her a favor. Carly will always come first with Jason, and she’s nobody’s second. Nina says, good for her. She hopes Britt doesn’t mind, but she doesn’t think she can stay for breakfast. She can’t justify paying Carly’s inflated prices for eggs and toast. Britt says, it’s Nina’s call; she’s not offended. Nina takes Britt’s hand, and says, it’s good to see her. If Britt hears from her mom, if there’s anything Nina can do, call her and let her know. Britt says, will do, and tells Nina to watch her back. She has the feeling Carly isn’t done with her yet.   

Phyllis sits down, with Sonny and Carly, and Carly says, may I? pointing to the box. Sonny tells her, go ahead, and she starts taking things out. She takes out a flannel shirt, and says she saw Sonny in one of these. She still can’t believe it. She takes out a few more, and asks how many he has. She says, wow, and takes out the cowboy hat. She says, Mike definitely had a distinct fashion style, and Phyllis says, not to mention a mean two-step. Sonny says, that’s high praise coming from the lifelong dance partner of Lenny Caulfield, the greatest dancer in the world. Phyllis says, that man was so light on his feet, he defied gravity. Sonny takes her hand, and I’m not sure how to read Carly’s face. Uncomfortable maybe.

Carly says, Lenny sounds like the best of men. Sonny told her that Lenny gave him a hard time when he first showed up, and wound up standing up for him, and treating him like a brother. She wishes she could have met him. Phyllis says, Lenny was one of a kind, and Sonny says, amen. Carly says she’s going to give them a chance to catch up; they must have a lot to talk about. Forget about her suggestion about staying home. She has tons of paperwork at the MetroCourt. Enjoy their time together. She tells Phyllis that it was a pleasure meeting her, and hopes Phyllis comes back. She’s always welcome. Carly leaves, and Sonny thanks Phyllis for bringing the box. Phyllis says she has a confession. That’s not the only reason she’s here. She wanted to meet him properly. He holds out his hand, and says, Sonny Corinthos. She says, Phyllis Caulfield, and shakes his hand. They turn the handshake into a hug.

Trina tells Portia that she and Josslyn have this code – sisters before misters. She feels like she’s breaking that code with Ava. Ava is her friend too. She feels bad that she kept it secret that Spencer was in town for weeks, but after everything that happened, she feels like it’s too late to say anything. What does Portia think? Portia says, the fact that Trina feels bad tells her something, especially now that she knows the damage secrets can cause. So what is she going to do? Trina says she thinks she’ll skip breakfast. Raincheck? Portia says, of course (🍷). She wants Trina to do what she’s got to do. She’s proud of Trina. Trina thanks Portia and says she loves her. Portia says she loves Trina too. Same time, same place next week? Trina says she wouldn’t miss it.

Nikolas says he can’t stand back after how Spencer treated his wife, and Ava says she appreciates his outrage, but she’s a big girl and can take care of herself. As he well knows. He says he’s aware, but in no way does it excuse Spencer for what he did. She says, Spencer has witnessed Nikolas’s plots and schemes his entire life. If Nikolas wants to punish Spencer for learning the behavior he’s modeled, don’t do it on her account. Her phone dings, and she says, breakfast and anything else will have to wait. She has a visitor.

Walking into the MetroCourt, Spencer tells Esme, there’s enough cash for breakfast, but after that, they’re broke. I thought she had money? Esme says, this is a temporary set-back. His father just needs time to cool off. He says, maybe Joss and Came will cool off too. One of the most annoying things about his friends is that he actually cares what they think. He sees Britt, and says he has an idea, but he needs to have this conversation alone. Esme says, no worries. She trusts him. Text her if he needs back-up. He goes over to Britt’s table, where she’s just finished with a call. He says, wheeling and dealing? Good. Does he have a deal for her.

Cameron tells Josslyn that he doesn’t know what to make of Spencer and Esme’s relationship, but so what? Who says they have to understand it? Josslyn asks when he got so wise, and he says when he started dating her. She says he really is wise; that was such a good answer. They kiss, and Nina walks in. Nina says she imagines she’s the last person Josslyn wants to see, and Josslyn says, good call. She asks if Cameron doesn’t have to go back to work, and he asks if she’s sure. She says, it’s fine, and he says he’ll go back to work… outside. Nina says she just came to get a bite to eat, but can leave if Josslyn is uncomfortable, but Josslyn asks why she would be uncomfortable. She’s not the one who stole 9 months of Sonny’s life, and left his family to grieve. She’s not the one who’s a total hypocrite.

Britt asks what the deal is, and Spencer says, room and board with her in exchange for his witticisms. She says, pass, and he says, and Esme’s French cooking techniques. She says, absolutely not, and he says, why not? They’ll be fun roommates, and Esme can cook dinner. Britt says she lives in a hotel room, and he says, she’s Chief of Staff, and still lives in a hotel room? and she says, demanding job, no pets, no kids, room service. Works for her, but not for him. He says she won’t even notice them. She’s at work all day, and he promises they won’t touch the minibar. She asks, what is going on? Why would he leave cushy Windymere for a rollaway bed in her hotel room? He says he and his father had a falling out, and Britt says, he left? Spencer shakes his head, and she says, Nikolas kicked him out? Why is Nikolas acting so self-righteous after all the crap he’s pulled? Spencer says, it’s a little complicated, and she says, please don’t tell her that he hasn’t done anything that will make her have to defend his father.

Ava sees Trina, and says, what a nice surprise. Trina says she’s glad Ava is still there. Does this mean… Ava says, thanks to Trina, she and Nikolas are back together. They’ll have a lifetime of mornings ahead of them. What Trina did was risky, and she doesn’t condone the plotting, but Trina did uncover the truth, and Ava is grateful. Trina says, don’t thank her.

Phyllis says Sonny’s coffee is delicious. He says, of course (🍷) it is. He’ll send her home with a pound. She looks at a photo, and asks who it is with him, and Sonny says, Mike, his dad. He died of Alzheimer’s a year ago. He was one of a kind. He and Lenny would have hit it off. Phyllis says she’s so sorry. He has a beautiful family; they must have missed him. She bets they’re happy he’s back, and he says, so is he; so is Carly. She says, Carly seems wonderful. It must have been hard on her. He says, yes she is, and yeah it was. Phyllis says she found pictures of him and Nina, but didn’t want to include them in the box. She wasn’t sure he’d want them. He thanks her, and she says she has another confession. She didn’t drive there to return the box. She thought he might need someone to talk to who understands. He says she’s still looking out for him, and she says, Lenny would call it putting her nose where it doesn’t belong. He says, Lenny loved that she did that; so does he. She says she knows he left a complicated situation in Nixon Falls. Is the situation there complicated too?  

Esme sees Cameron outside Kelly’s, and says she’s so glad she found him. She needs him desperately.

Josslyn tells Nina to consider a delivery app, if she has to leave every establishment where there are people who love Sonny. Nina says she’ll take that into consideration. She’s truly sorry. She starts to leave, but Josslyn tells her to wait. She has something for Nina.

Britt asks what Spencer was thinking, and he says he was saving his father from Ava. She says, so he could have his father to himself? and he wonders if that’s too much to ask. He thought his father was dead for three years. She says, Spencer claims he wants to make up for lost time, but what he means is, he wants to control who his father is with. What bothers her the most is the lengths he went to, the lies he told, and the people he hurt, including her. Nikolas accused her of being the stalker, and Spencer said nothing. He says, because Nikolas didn’t think that anymore, but she’s right. He’s sorry. It’s one of the many mistakes he made. She says she gets making mistakes. He knows she’s fond of him, while she’s not fond of his father, but he needs to go make amends. He says he can’t; his father doesn’t want to see him. Maybe he and Esme could just stay one night, until they can figure it out. Carly comes over to the table, and says, not in her hotel. He terrorized Ava by implying a threat to Avery, and manipulated Sonny the second he got home. It’s totally unacceptable. Spencer says Carly is right. He screwed up, and he doesn’t blame anyone for not wanting him around. She tells him, don’t play the martyr. Stand on his own two feet instead of waiting for someone to bail him out. That’s the problem. Someone has been enabling him his entire life. He says, again his apologizes, to them both, and leaves.  

Cameron tells Esme, he’s working, so… She says he’s the only one who can help her… and Spence. He asks, what’s going on with Spencer? and she says, Spencer has been tossed out and cut off. They’re almost with no money. Cameron says, first of all, they’re hardly starving and destitute, and second, they kind of deserve what they get. What Spencer did was terrible. She says, maybe she should have done more to rein Spence in, but he was in so much pain. He wanted his father back, and now he’s lost his father all over again. Cameron says, things are bad right now, but Spencer will bounce back. He always does. She says, not this time. I don’t know if she’s faking it, but I think it’s the first time Esme hasn’t smiled through a conversation, whether it was appropriate or not.

Trina tells Ava, the day she realized Victor was really Spencer, was the day she realized he’d been lying about how long he’s been in Port Charles. Obviously, he needed to cover for his creeping around, leaving nasty little threats. Ava says, then he convinced Trina to keep his secret, and Trina says, he told her he had troubled relationship with his dad, and that’s why he didn’t approach Nikolas right away. And she bought it. Ava wonders if there’s anyone in this town Spencer hasn’t deceived, and Trina says she helped him by keeping quiet. Ava says, Spencer deceived Trina too. He lied to her, he manipulated her, and took advantage of her trust. Trina says, if she’d come to Ava sooner, maybe they could have figured out Spencer was the stalker. Before her car got torched. Can Ava ever forgive her? Ava says, there’s absolutely nothing to forgive her for. She wishes she’d had a friend as loyal and trustworthy as Trina years ago. Trina says Ava has her now, and Ava says she’s sorry for what Trina lost. She remembers how excited Trina  was when Victor swept into her life, and she hates how he robbed Trina of that feeling.

Nikolas comes out of the elevator as Portia is waiting for it, and she says, perfect timing. If him or his son ever hurt her daughter again, they’ll regret it. He looks at her blankly, and she says, he needs reminding. His deviant stunts at the party at Windymere, Spencer drenching Trina in fake blood, pretending to be Victor, and convincing Trina to lie about his presence in Port Charles, so that he could stalk Ava. Nikolas says he’s so sorry. Last night, Spencer admitted he’d come home from school early, but he had no idea Spencer had deceived Trina in that way. She says, his son is walking through the world like he can do whatever he wants. And Nikolas, as the adult, needs to shut that down. Nikolas says he’s truly sorry, and she says, next time he sees his son, let him know if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll stay away from her daughter. I smell a romance in the works.

Sonny says, being home has been an adjustment, and asks Phyllis, what’s the deal with the Tan-O? She says she filed a claim with insurance, but the adjuster is still investigating, so the wait is on. He asks if she wants to rebuild, but she’s not sure. Without Lenny, she feels a bit at sea. He says, it didn’t help that he took off, but she says, he needed to get back to his family. He says he considers Phyllis family; whatever she needs, he’s there for her. She says he doesn’t owe her anything, but he says she saved his life. The least he can do is put her up, there or at the MetroCourt. And he’s not taking no for an answer. She says she appreciates that. She does have some unfinished business in town. He says she didn’t come just to see him? and she says, she came to see Nina.

Josslyn says she’s glad she ran into Nina. She holds up the journal, and asks if Nina recognizes it. Nina says, it’s the journal she gave Josslyn as a graduation present, and Josslyn says, she’d actually stopped writing, but didn’t tell Nina at the time because she was being polite. She tries not to cry, and says she started writing again after Nina gave it to her, and used it to process her feelings. She flips through it, and says, she wrote about Sonny’s funeral. She rips it out, and says, she wrote about the nights she heard her mom quietly sobbing. She tears that out too, and says, and she wrote about the good days where they still felt like a family. And the bad ones where all any of them could think about was missing Sonny. But Nina didn’t just lie to them, she lied to Josslyn’s father. He went to Nixon Falls to see her and try to win her back, but instead he got shot defending her and her friend. When Jax came to Nina, saying he thought he saw Sonny when he was on the gurney, and she lied and said he hadn’t. Nina deceived him too. She rips all the pages out, and says, it’s all there, updated as of last night. She’ll be keeping her thoughts, but this gift from Nina? She never wants to see it or Nina again. She hands the journal to Nina.  

Cameron says he has to get back inside, but Esme says, Spence needs him. He just lost his father, and now he’s lost Cameron too, and she can’t handle it. She doesn’t want to come between Spence and his real friends. That’s what he calls Cameron and Josslyn. They’re his real friends, and Spence is hers.

Trina tells Ava, she started off really liking Victor, but he was just a put-on, a façade. She can’t believe she let Spencer play her like that. She’ll never trust him again after what he did to Ava. Ava says, she’s not encouraging Trina to have a relationship with Spencer – far from it. She appreciates Trina’s loyalty, but what happened between her and Spencer is between them. Trina is free to do her. Spencer calls out for his father, and walks into the room. Trina gives him that look. You know the one.

Cameron tells Esme that Spencer hasn’t lost him; he’s still Spencer’s cousin. He really dislikes what Spencer did to his father, Ava, and Trina, but he doesn’t hate Spencer. She asks, what about Joss? and he says, she’s mad, but she’s also the kindest person he knows. He’s sure she’ll move past it. Esme says Cameron is such a good guy, when Josslyn comes out of Kelly’s. It looks like she’s not liking what she sees.

Carly tells Britt, breakfast is on the house. She apologizes for interrupting Britt’s conversation with Spencer. Britt says, it’s okay; she’d already turned him down. He made himself a hell of a mess and she can’t fix it for him. She hopes he figures it out. He’s a good kid in spite of everything. Carly says, technically, he’s an adult, but when she was his age, she didn’t behave like one either. Britt says, even as adults, we don’t always behave as adults, and starts to leave, but Carly says she knows Britt has a lot going on; so does she. She’d like to clear the air between them, and asks if Britt is ready for some radical honesty. Britt says she’s ready if Carly is.

Phyllis says she still has things she needs to say to Nina, and Sonny wonders why Phyllis would still want to talk to her after everything she did. She caused Phyllis to lose the Tan-O. She says, she thought about all the horrible things Nina did to Sonny and his family, and the lives she endangered, including her own. But she also knows Nina’s heart. All the things Nina did for her and Lenny, and their town, even for Sonny as Mike. A person has to be in a lot of pain and confusion to balance all that love and desperation. Lenny always said she had a bleeding heart, and maybe she does, but she can’t write Nina off just yet. Can he?   

On Monday, Alexis tells Nikolas that it’s no time for him to turn his back on Spencer, Jax asks Shawn how something circles back to him, and Britt tells Carly, it’s not going to happen.

👑 She’ll Never Be Queen…

Kyle stands by her good friend. Unless things start going bad.

She thinks they’re good.

She’ll walk away when they stop paying her.

🔥 On the Barbie…

I’m sure she had an answer for everything, but I’ll be on the lookout for squirming.

🍸 Belle Of the South…

Good. Erika has no business trying to intimidate the weak one because things didn’t go as planned. And I agree that no woman should ever say that to another woman. Actually, I don’t think anyone should use that word ever. And I have a potty mouth. What can I say? I was raised by a sailor.

😶 Can’t Read the Room…

I don’t even know what to say here.

💎 Don’t Fence Her In…

It would be a shame if Garcelle left. She’s the voice of reason, and of color.

🧹 On the Other Hand…

I’m all for LVP, Garcelle, and Sutton having a show.

⛪️ Meanwhile, In the Lake Of Salt…

Methinks they suddenly realized what a bad look it was.

Lisa tries to balance it with a good look.

🗽 Still Clueless…

I hardly think there was a stigma attached to single working moms in 2010.

⛺️ Downsizing…

I guess this is what happens when you do really, really stupid things.

💤 Uninspired…

Are they really going to name it Schwartz and Sandy’s? Will they be serving egg creams?

https://www.bravotv.com/vanderpump-rules/style-living/tom-sandoval-tom-schwartz-opening-a-new-restaurant-details

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/tom-schwartz-tom-sandoval-new-bar-lisa-vanderpump-reacts

🏠 Coming Back Home…

I loved the Homecoming show they did for Real World New York. I’m hoping this one is as good. I’d love to see San Francisco, but now that Pedro is gone, it would be sad. And I’m not sure if I could stomach Puck again.

https://ew.com/tv/real-world-homecoming-season-2-los-angeles-1993-cast/

🐅 Tiger Take Two…

I can’t imagine it topping, or even being equal to, the first one. I was mesmerized.

https://ew.com/tv/tiger-king-season-2-coming-to-netflix/

🧛🏻‍♀️ All In the Timing…

Why shouldn’t Cassandra Peterson aka Elvira have a memoir coming out when it’s almost Halloween? And who knew all this stuff? I can’t wait to read this.

https://nypost.com/2021/09/21/elvira-reveals-sexuality-wilt-chamberlain-encounter-more/

https://nypost.com/2021/09/23/elvira-reveals-photo-of-her-girlfriend-says-theyre-relieved/

🎃 23 Days To Halloween…

And so it begins.

https://www.glamour.com/gallery/best-celebrity-halloween-costumes

📣 Quotes of the Week

A good friend will always stab you in the front. – Oscar Wilde

The cure for anything is saltwater: sweat, tears, or the sea.Isak Dinesen, author of Out of Africa

Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian. – Shari R. Barr

Listening is where love begins: listening to ourselves and then to our neighbors. – Fred Rogers

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. – J.R.R. Tolkien

In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes us happy. – Albert Clarke

There’s a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line. Oscar Levant

Your dream is a reality that is waiting for you to materialize. Today is a new day! Don’t let your history interfere with your destiny! Learn from your past so that it can empower your present and propel you to greatness. – Steve Maraboli

You’re only as sick as your secrets. – AA saying

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle. – Plato

👢 Walking Into the Weekend Like…

I have an early day tomorrow, but before we know it, it will be Dead time. Until then, stay safe, stay changing it up now and then, and stay believing them if someone shows you who they are.

October 7, 2021 – A Shootout In Crete, Co-Listing Nightmare & Watching

Standard

What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Monte Carlo, Monaco. Dante is on the phone with Rocco. He’s glad Rocco is having fun with Grandma Olivia. He misses Rocco and loves him. There’s a knock at the door, and he ends the call. It’s Sam, and he tells her that he was just saying good morning to Rocco. She says she just did the same thing with Danny and Scout, and he says Sam didn’t tell Scout what she’s doing, did she? She says, did she tell Scout that she was looking for her father? No. She’s not saying anything until she sees Drew with her own two eyes. Which according to Anna, could be very soon.

Robert and Anna go to the bar where Anna was with Valentin. She says hello to the bartender, and Robert asks if she knows him. She says he served them last night. She has every WSB agent looking for Drew, but wishes Chloe’s account had been more helpful. Like maybe more landmarks or details. Robert says, she did tell them Drew helped her escape, and got himself beaten black and blue, and Anna says, beaten, not killed. If Peter had wanted that to happen, Drew would have been dead years ago. He says, all they have to do is find out where Drew is being held, and she says she’s going upstairs to check on Valentin. He says, good luck with that. He’s probably up there, passed out, waiting to resurface with a hangover as big as Australia.

Nope. He’s at Victor’s place. He finds a deck of cards, and plays solitaire. Bored with that, he flips all the cards into the air. Victor comes in, and he says, hello, uncle. Good of him to visit. Victor says, sorry; he was delayed. Valentin says he thought Peter had taken care of Victor once and for all. He did say Peter was out to kill them both.

Austin sees Maxie coming out of the hospital elevator, and asks if she’s there for medical reasons, or to ask him to accompany her to another wedding ceremony. She says, neither. She’s getting Bobbie some flowers from the gift shop. He asks if it’s Bobbie’s birthday, but Maxie says, it’s her daughter BJ’s birthday. He says, she’s buying flowers for Bobbie to celebrate her daughter’s birthday? and Maxie says, she’s BJ’s cousin. Her Uncle Tony is BJ’s dad. When she was really little, she was sick, and needed a heart transplant, or else she would die. Then one horrible day, BJ’s school van was hit by a drunk driver. BJ was left brain dead, and Tony and Bobbie decided to give her BJ’s heart. That’s why she’s alive today.

Brook sits with Chase at the café, and asks if he’s grabbing breakfast before work. He says, better here than at his desk, the only place he’ll be working for the foreseeable future. She says, poor baby, and he says she can feel sorry for him being stuck on desk duty while he’s recuperating, but she says maybe his superiors are onto something. Taking it slow never hurt anyone. He says, someday, he’s going to love reminding her that she said that. Why is she here anyway? He’s seen the breakfast spread at the Quartermaines. This doesn’t come close. She says he had to get out of the house early, and get distracted, and he asks what has her so worked up? She says, something happened yesterday that’s got her bothered. He says, bothered as in alarmed, or bothered as in annoyed? She says, bothered as in bothered. She needs to say something to someone about it before she loses it. Chase says maybe he can talk her off the ledge; it wouldn’t be the first time. Hopefully, it doesn’t end with him arresting her. That would be progress. Who has her blood boiling this time? She says, that wannabe Quartermaine – Austin Gatlin-Holt.

Austin says, wow. Maxie had Kawasaki Syndrome so bad, she needed a heart transplant? She says, yeah, and he says he’s sure she told the story a million times. He thinks it’s cool that she’s celebrating her cousin’s life by bringing her mother flowers. She says, she and Bobbie have a really special relationship because of that. He says, she’s been through a lot. Are those guards still following her? She says, yes and no. She doesn’t have a guard like Yuri, but PCPD officers are waiting outside. He says, as long as she’s safe, that’s all that matters, and she says, as long as Peter is lurking around, they’re going to be her shadow. He says, it’s good she’s taking steps to protect herself, and she says it looks like she’s not the only one who could use protection. He needs some from Brook. 

Valentin says he’s had time to think, and he thinks Victor is manipulating him. He doesn’t think Victor is in any danger at all from Peter. He thinks Victor wants his cooperation for some reason, and he’s using Peter as the most expedient way to go about it. Victor says he’d never do that to Valentin. After all, he’s the only Cassadine who gave Valentin the time of day when he was a little boy. Valentin says, was he? His memories of the island are a little vague. He was six when he left that godforsaken place. Victor says, perhaps Valentin doesn’t remember Victor being kind to him, but he was, and he still feels warmly toward him. Valentin says, is that why Victor upgraded his accommodations from third world hellhole prison cell, to a slightly more opulent prison cell? Because he cares? Victor says he’s keeping Valentin locked up for his own safety. He can’t say he blames Valentin. Valentin says, Victor is trying to protect him? Then tell him something. There’s someone Peter hates even more than him; someone he’s definitely going to target. What is Victor doing to protect Anna Devane?

Anna comes back to find Robert seated at the bar, and Robert says he was right, wasn’t he? Valentin is up there in bed, stinking of booze, smelling like licorice. He picks up his glass and says, this is bad stuff. She says, no. Valentin wasn’t in his room; he hasn’t been there all night. She asks if the bartender remembers the man she was with last night. Did he see him this morning? The bartender says when his wife went to clean the room this morning, she said the guest was already gone. Anna tells Robert, something’s not right. Before they left the US, the both made sure they had international coverage. He would have texted her if he’d gone anywhere. Robert says, maybe Valentin isn’t the man she thinks he is, and when the tough got going, he bailed on the search for Peter, and her. She says, he didn’t bail. If he’d gone anywhere, he would have left a message. He says, be serious. He’s out here searching for Maxie’s baby, and in the meantime, she’s her squandering what’s left of her good judgment. Not on Peter. This time, it’s on Valentin.

Dante says, so Sam got news from Anna, and she says, Anna left her a voicemail. She found the real Chloe Jennings. He says, so Peter didn’t kill her then, and Sam says, no. She showed up at a US Consulate in Crete. She was imprisoned, and managed to escape. Then she was in a car accident, but here’s the real kicker. She didn’t plan the escape without help. There was another prisoner with her, but by the time the guards caught up with them, the other prisoner sacrificed himself so she could escape. He says he thinks he knows where this is headed, and she says, of course (🍷) the other prisoner was Drew. It had to be. Who else would sacrifice themself to save someone else? He says, so off to Crete? and she says she contacted the concierge and they’re making travel plans. They’re just waiting on some details. He says, good. Maybe they have time to talk. She says, about what? and he says, about what she told him last night about where she stands regarding Drew.

Sam tells Dante, she went into a deep dive last night, regarding her relationship – or lack thereof – with Drew. She wants to be really clear with him about finding Drew. It’s all about Scout, not her. Dante says he believed her when she told him last night. It helped him out too, because he’s been doing a lot of thinking about this… the two of them, in terms of what it means in regard to them being together. He tells her not to throw another drink in his face, and she says, that was for show. He says he thinks she liked it a little bit too, and she says, maybe. He wants to be clear with her. I like you, Samantha. He doesn’t want to be work buddies, or just teaming up to find Drew. He’s just going to  say it, and he says he wants to see where it goes.

Austin asks if Maxie is talking about the scene Brook caused yesterday, and she says, it was kind of hard not to notice. Brook was yelling at him for a variety of things – the lawsuit and ELQ, Ned and the Quartermaines in general, and there was something about Leo that she couldn’t quite figure out. He says, she’s not wrong; there’s a lot going on. Here’s what he can tell her. When he wins his case in court, the Quartermaines will have no choice but to accept him as part of the family. She says, legally maybe, but she doesn’t know if they will personally. If he wins, he gets a piece of the ELQ pie, right? He says, maybe, but that’s not what this is about. It’s about his dad; he’s honoring his father. It was really important to his father to be recognized by the Quartermaines. If he ruffles a few Q feathers, it might be awkward with Brook, since she’s Maxie’s best friend. Maxie says, Brook isn’t her best friend. She wouldn’t even consider them friends, period.

Chase says Brook doesn’t have to sell him on the fact she has a problem with Austin. He witnessed it first hand when Austin convinced him to go through Edward’s papers to find the paper on ELQ. She says she doesn’t blame Chase for that. He’d just found out about Willow and Michael. His heart was broken. Austin knew that, and took advantage. He wanted to get what he wanted and it worked. He’s trying to do the same things with her dad. He says, how so? and she says he’s trying to distract her father; take his attention away from ELQ. She sacrificed so much to get those shares. She did it all for her dad, and for the sake of the rest of the family, and Austin is trying to ruin all of her hard work. He asks how Austin is doing that, and she says, in the worst possible way – using a child.  

Victor says Valentin has no reason to worry about Anna. She’s replaced him with another sidekick. Valentin asks, who? and Victor says, her ex-husband Robert Scorpio. Valentin says, Peter is going to target them both. He needs to be there to help Anna. Victor admires Valentin’s passion for Anna’s safety, especially considered their checkered past during in their spy days. If she brings happiness into his life, good for him. Valentin says, if anything happens to Anna while he’s locked up there, he’s holding Victor personally responsible. Victor says, if anything happens to Anna, Peter will be guilty, not him.

Anna says Robert is throwing Peter in her face, after she admitted she was wrong, and he forgave her. Don’t equate her mistake with Peter with her friendship with Valentin. He says he didn’t mean to bring up the whole Peter mess again, but he doesn’t trust Valentin, and with good reason. He’s going to hurt Anna. How far has it gone between them? Anna remembers kissing on the terrace, and Robert says, bloody hell. She is soft on him. Anna says, stop. Enough digs about Valentin. Their job is to put Peter in jail, and get Maxie’s baby back. Stop getting them off track. He says, actually, he thinks it’s her feelings about Valentin that are holding her back from doing her job. The musician Anna spoke to comes in, and she says, excuse me. Does he remember her from last night? He says he does, and she asks if he gave her friend the message when she left. He says, yes. He definitely gave Valentin the message.  

Valentin asks what turned Victor against Peter? It wasn’t the downing of Drew’s plane; he was involved in that. He knows all about Victor’s work at Creighton-Clark, and that he’s been keeping Drew prisoner on Helena’s behest. Victor says, Valentin doesn’t have to remind him about all the things he’s done wrong. Right now, he’s doing his best to atone for a lifetime of mistakes. It seems to Valentin that Victor is making even more mistakes, and Victor says, he underestimated Peter. He has no more use for Valentin, Anna, or Drew Cain. The only thing keeping Peter from killing all three of them is Victor pretending to help him. His hands are tied. That’s why he came to Valentin for help. He’s desperate. He’s begging Valentin. Please.

Brook says Austin presented a far-fetched idea to her dad that Leo could be on the spectrum, and Chase asks if she means autism. She says, yes, and the guy only treated Leo for a cut on his finger. She knows it’s just a smokescreen, and Austin is trying to distract her father from ELQ. And it’s working. Worse yet, he’s fighting with Olivia again. Chase says, Olivia doesn’t agree with Austin? and Brook says, of course (🍷) not. The guy has barely even examined him, which is why Olivia is so pissed at her dad for even entertaining Austin’s advice. Chase says he’s not a fan of Austin’s, but when he was living at their house, Leo was kind of shy around him. She says, so what does that mean? Leo’s a great kid. So he gets hyper focused sometimes and is generally hyper. What does that prove? So sometimes Leo doesn’t talk when you talk to him, but when she doesn’t feel like talking, she does that too. He says, there are days she actually doesn’t feel like talking? and she says she means it. Austin is the bad guy in this situation. He’s taking advantage of her father’s love for his stepson, and it’s destroying his marriage to Olivia. And Austin is just going to ride off in to the sunset with her great-grandfather’s legacy. He asks if she really thinks Austin would purposefully misdiagnose a little boy, and she says Austin took advantage of Chase when he could barely walk and his marriage was falling apart. He says, true, and he’ll always be suspicious of him for that. What is he suggesting? Some crazy medication? She says, no. He wants her dad and Olivia to take Leo to see a specialist. He says, that’s all? and she says, that’s enough. It’s causing infighting and chaos, when they should be sticking together against Austin. He says, if this was Bailey, her own daughter, wouldn’t she want Bailey to see a specialist? Just to be safe?

Austin says he’s confused about Maxie and Brook not being friends. He sees them together all the time – at the Quartermaines, the MetroCourt, here at the hospital, usually with Bailey. They work together, right? She says they do. They work at Deception, which makes them work associates. Then they were thrown into the same Lamaze class. She can see how it would look like they’re friends, but they’re not best friends, and Maxie doesn’t really consider Brook a friend. He says, it’s no skin off his nose, but does she want to share why they’re not friends? She says, because she’s a troublemaker. She tried to seduce Dante when he was involved with her real best friend Lulu. Brook set it up so Lulu would walk in on them in a compromising situation. He asks, how compromising? and Maxie says, she really hurt Lulu. Austin probably doesn’t know about her, but Lulu is in a coma in a treatment facility. He says he’s sorry to hear that, and asks if Brook succeeded in breaking up Dante and Lulu, but she says, no. Nothing could break up Dante and Lulu… except maybe a bomb.

Sam says, Dante wants to see where things go between them? and he says he does. He hopes she feels that way too. It too them a while to get to the point where they decided to explore if there was anything more, and rightly so. She divorced Jason, and him and Lulu… He thinks they’re at that point now. She says she is, and thinks he is too. He says he thinks it’s about time he asked her out on a real date. That’s what they call it right? and she says, exactly. He says she didn’t answer his question, and she says, which is? He says, a real date. Is she interested ?

Anna asks if Valentin left on his own or if someone was forcing him, and the musician says, he left on his own. Not long after she left. She says, that’s impossible. When she put him in his room, he was out cold. There’s no way he left on his own. The musician says she doesn’t have to believe him; he’s only telling her what he saw. Maybe her friend wasn’t as drunk as she thought, or maybe he sobered up quickly. All he knows is when he went outside to load up his car, her friend was on the corner, waiting. A sportscar pulled up, he got in, and took off. That’s all he knows. Robert says he told her. She cannot trust Valentin. She grabs the musician, and slams him face down onto a table. She says, tell her what happened to her friend. You’re lying. Robert pulls up the guy’s sleeve, and Anna says, a Cassadine tattoo. Does he work for them?

Sam says, Dante is making this really awkward like they’re in junior high. She doesn’t know how to make this more clear, but she’s interested in him; very interested. He says, that’s good. It’s been a while since he asked a woman out on a date. He wants to take it slowly, and she asks if it’s because of Lulu, but he says, no. Before he left, he was adamant about Lulu not waiting for him. And she didn’t. She found love with Dustin, and before the Floating Rib explosion, he proposed to her, so that was over. It took him a while to accept it. He’s praying for her recovery, and will always care for her. They had Rocco together, but that’s where that ends. She says, okay. It all makes sense to her, but if that’s true, why does he want to take things slowly between them?

Maxie tells Austin, when The Floating Rib was bombed, Dante and Lulu were broken up, but that’s only because Dante left town. He says, if they were the perfect couple, why did Dante leave town without her? She says, because Dante had PTSD, and wasn’t sure if he was capable of hurting someone. So he told her to move on, and that’s when Lulu fell in love with this really great teacher named Dustin. But when Dante came back to town, Lulu confided in her that she was still in love with Dante. Then the bomb went off at The Floating Rib, and now Lulu is in a coma. She was never sure what to do with that secret. He says, all right… So circling back to Brook Lynn. She tried her best to break up Dante and Lulu, and didn’t succeed, and Maxie still hasn’t forgiven her. She says, right, and he says, and how long has it been? She says, ten, eleven years, and he says, that seems like an awfully long time to hold a grudge. Particularly since life seems to be throwing them together a lot. From an outsider’s point-of-view, Brook’s always generous with Maxie, allowing her to spend time with Bailey because she knows Maxie is missing Louise. She says, his point being? and he says, maybe it’s time to reassess things? Right before she kindly asked him to accompany her to Jason and Carly’s wedding, it seemed like she and Brook were enjoying a really lovely moment. Maxie flashes back to Brook saying she’s trying to do better, and Maxie saying, it’s hard to change old patterns of behavior, but she appreciates Brook trying. Maxie says, oh my God. Are she and Brook friends, and not just casual friends, but good friends? Have they really come that far?

Brook tells Chase, if she had the tiniest inkling that anything was wrong with Bailey, she would have her checked out immediately. It’s her duty to keep Bailey safe and healthy. He says, even if Austin suggested it? Or would she assume he was lying to her? She says, they’re not remotely the same. Bailey is a teeny tiny baby; Leo is already in school. He can speak up for himself. And Austin is talking about Leo’s mind and behaviors. Seeing a specialist could mess with Leo’s head, and Austin made it up out of thin air. He asks if she’s sure about that. He’s heard her go on and on about how much she loves Bailey, and how much Bailey has changed her. Maybe part of that change is taking a more objective look at Austin’s concern for Leo. He’s not saying she should scare him by saying he needs to see a specialist; make it seem normal. Just because Austin took advantage of him, doesn’t mean Austin is all bad. Talk to him. She says, she did that, yesterday. Yeah, she did most of the talking, and by talking, she means yelling. He asks if she threw anything at him, and she says, she should have. She showed restraint. He says, then use that restraint, and engage him in a conversation… calmly. She says, it’s not like Austin can talk to her about Leo’s case anyway, all those medical privacy laws. He says, still, she can see where Austin’s coming from, and it could be good for Leo. Maybe it will help broker peace between her dad and Olivia.

Maxie says Austin opened her eyes, and made some good points. Austin thanks her, and says he once heard Brook says Maxie was the bravest person she knows. Maxie flashes back to Brook saying that as she was leaving with baby Louise. She sits down abruptly. He asks if she’s okay, and she says, yeah. She was just thinking about Peter; he still worries her. Austin says, for good reason. For what it’s worth (🍷), he shares Brook’s assessment. He thinks she’s very brave. She asks when he heard Brook say that about her, and he says he’s not sure of the where or when. It’s a very specific memory, so that’s a little weird. He doesn’t know why it’s in his head. She says, Brook isn’t known for giving her compliments. Maybe he dreamt it. He says, maybe. Concerning his waking dream, where he’s accepted by the Quartermaines and get ELQ shares, how is she going to manage that? She says she has nothing to do with ELQ, but he says, they’ve just established that she and Brook are friends, and he and Brook don’t get along. Is that going to affect how she sees him? She says, she can disagree with Brook’s opinion of him and still be friends with him. He says, so they’re friends; that’s cool. She tells him, she’ll say this, when she saw him with Leo, she didn’t see someone trying to take advantage. She saw a caring doctor. He thanks her, and Chase and Brook come in. Austin tells Maxie maybe some other people will come around to her line of thinking. Austin asks if he should take cover, but Brook says, no. She wants to talk to him calmly and alone. He says, okay, and they leave. Maxie asks if Chase knows what’s going on with that, and he says he tried talking Brook out of her hostility toward Austin. Hopefully it worked.

Brook tells Austin that she just want to apologize for jumping on him yesterday about Leo. She should never have assumed he was working an angle, trying to weasel his way into their family, but he has to understand something. She and Leo might not be blood related, but she loves that kid. If he needs help, she wants him to get it. It’s important to her. Way more important than ELQ, that’s for sure. Her dad mentioned Austin thought Leo might be on the autism spectrum. He tells her, he never said that, and she tells him, whatever he said, they’re obviously concerned. So what does he think is going on with Leo?

Dante says he doesn’t want Sam to think he’s getting into something with her because he’s trying to get over his feelings for Lulu. She’ll always have a place in his heart, but that’s it. He wants what they have to be about only them, and Sam says, that’s good. She feels the same way. He says, that’s good. He’s taking it slowly. She says she doesn’t taking things slow, as long as they’re moving forward. They kiss.

Victor says he’s sorry for the extreme measures he had to take, but hopes Valentin comes to trust him one day. Valentin asks why he should, and Victor says Valentin has every reason not to, but there is one good reason he hopes Valentin will put his faith in him. Valentin says there’s no connection between them. They share a last name, but there’s no blood between them. He was the product of a random affair. He’d believed Helena hated him because the affair was with Mikkos, but he was wrong. He’s not even an authentic Cassadine. Victor says Valentin is so wrong, and Valentin says, maybe Victor was kind to him as a child, but why should he trust Victor now? Victor says, it’s right in front of Valentin’s face, and Valentin says, what is? Victor says, he’s the man who had an affair with Helena. Valentin is his son.

The musician says, they’re not police. He doesn’t have to answer their questions, but Robert says, actually he does. They saw the tattoo. Is he a member of the Cassadines? The musician says he’s not family, and Anna asks if he works for them. Does he gather information for them? Was he spying on her and Valentin; is that what he did? He spiked Valentin’s drink, didn’t he? Then took him somewhere when she went to the Consulate. What happened? Robert says, tell them the truth, and just maybe they’ll let him walk out of there. Anna sees something, and tosses the guy aside, telling Robert, move. They duck behind the bar just as a gunman starts shooting at them. There’s a mini shootout, and Anna ends up hitting the gunman in the shoulder. He runs.    

Austin tells Brook, Firstly, he’s not Leo’s doctor, and secondly, he can’t diagnose the kid; he’s not a pediatric neurologist. She asks why he thinks Leo needs a specialist, and he shrugs. She says, this issue has been really divisive for her dad and Olivia. Maybe if he tells her a little more, gives her some information, tell her some of Leo’s symptoms, she could talk to Olivia and get everybody on the same page. Does he really think Leo could be autistic? He says, yes. He thinks Leo could be on the spectrum.

Maxie tells Chase, Brook is going to do what she thinks is best; that’s just the way she is. That’s a good thing in Maxie’s book. He says, Brook has her fair share of detractors. It’s nice to see Maxie being supportive. She says she wasn’t not always a big fan, but Austin made her realize something changed. If anyone had told her this five years ago, she woudn’t have believed it, but somehow, some way, she and Brook became close friends. Even if Austin did say something kind of troubling. Chase says, like what? and she says, never mind; it’s nothing. He asks if she’s sure, and she says, it’s just one thing she was holding against Brook, that she tried to seduce Dante when he was with Lulu. He says, that doesn’t sound like the Brook he knows. How did it play out? She says, it didn’t. Lulu and Dante are a love for the ages.

Sam and Dante finally break apart, and he says, that was pretty damn good. She tells him, she’d say so, and he says, that’s a good thing, right? She says, yeah, and Dante suggests they finish what they started… find… They both say, Scout’s dad. She says, and then they can make this about them, because she thinks it’s a good idea. He says he does too, and she thanks him. He says, my pleasure, partner, and leaves.

Valentin says, Victor is his long lost father, is he? He’s supposed to believe that? Victor says Valentin knows as well as he does, the Cassadines aren’t known for their kindness and caring. If he helped Valentin whenever he could, it had to have been for a good reason. Valentin says, Victor helped him? Sorry he missed that. Victor says, Valentin doesn’t think a man with the name Cassadine can just walk into the WSB. Does Valentin really think he got that job on his own? He’s done whatever he could to support Valentin over the years, but sometimes he hasn’t succeeded. Valentin says, if Victor wants to form an alliance with him, that’s fine, but don’t insult his intelligence with sentimental drivel. Victor hopes one day they can continue this discussion and try to find a way forward, but right now, the most pressing matter is stopping Peter.

Robert asks if Anna minds telling him what just happened, and she says, Peter must have set them up. He says, nice to know someone else wants to kill them.

Outside, the wounded gunman removes his mask. It’s Drew.

Tomorrow, Esme says she needs Cameron desperately, Britt says she’s no one’s second, Spencer has a deal for someone, and Sonny says something is a pleasant surprise.

Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles

JoshF and husband Bobby discussed the houses Bobby had looked at in Palm Springs. Bobby said he saw one last house, and it was next to a hospital. Josh said that was almost as bad as being next to a school, then decided it was actually worse. In Josh’s interview, he said things had been tense between them when they’d looked at a house together. He thought Bobby needed some space. Bobby said he thought Josh was right about the house. It was overpriced, and Bobby was emotional. It wasn’t the best time to make a big decision.  

David and James met the owner of a house in Bel Air, explaining that the further up the hill you went, the less desirable the properties were. Upper Bel Air was for people who wanted the cache of the zip code, but not as much expense. They met with seller Eyal who was also a developer they’d worked with in the past, selling new construction. Linda Flora (the house, not a human) was boxy, very boxy, and 6550 square feet, with 5 bedrooms and 6 baths. There was a 55’ salt water (why? I always wonder) infinity pool, a 1300 square foot roof deck, and panoramic views. It also had an entertainer’s kitchen. One day, I will look up these terms, but I swear they’re making this stuff up as they go along. Apparently, Eyal’s wife – who’s name I did not catch, so we’ll call her EW – came along with the listing, because Eyal wanted her to co-list with them. She’d had it on the market for two months, but at $10 million price tag. It was agreed a price adjustment was needed, as well as staging; it needed to be remarketed and rebranded. David and James managed to talk them down to 7.995, saying, they would lose buyers if it was anything higher, and waste time with it sitting on the market. David and/or James said he’d be blown away if it didn’t sell quickly. In one their interviews, James and/or David said they were giving away their experience for half the commission.

JoshA met with Randi, a seller with three daughters, and co-owner of a successful tech company. In Josh’s interview, he said he couldn’t divulge the details of his clients, but they were wealthier than you. It was an extra-large house, 10,500 square feet on a 21,623 square foot lot, with 9 bedrooms and 10 baths. Not to mention a two-story, 2 bedroom, 2 bath, guesthouse. It was another entertainer’s kitchen, but they had Wolf appliances, and I know what those are. I also know I can’t afford them. They had an infinity pool that also fed a 12’ waterfall. As usual the owner wanted more than the broker thought it was worth, but Josh got her to agree to the high 8s, his potential commission being $218K. The daughters weren’t too keen on moving though. 

Tracy was dealing with Mapleton, her sister’s house. She was doing private showings of the 11,500 square foot, 9 bed, 9 bath, house, and in Tracy’s interview, she said it was a lot of pressure. She wanted to impress her sister, especially since her sister hadn’t hired her 13 years ago when she bought the place. Tracy was now one of the biggest agents in L.A., but it didn’t matter. She was still sweating it out. She was feeling good about the showings, but didn’t want to get comfortable, since she was on a tight leash.

JoshF was working on selling Suzanne Somers’s place. I just couldn’t imagine leaving this amazing piece of property that needed a funicular to get to. And a farmhouse kitchen. Josh had a showing for 12 brokers and buyers, the maximum he could have at that time because of covid. In his interview, Josh said he knew some of them were there because of who Suzanne was, but he wanted them to leave thinking about how unique the land was, with its four villas, waterfall, and carousel. Suzanne preferred not to sell to a developer, and hopefully there would be multiple offers, but if it was all you got, you should take it. This house is like living in your own national park. I’m really hoping they find someone who takes and keeps it as is.

JoshA had a hard time showing Randi’s house, since her daughters had been giving her a hard time about moving. While the sellers aren’t normally at showings, Randi said the girls had tests to study for, or some nonsense. In Josh’s interview, he said, buyers wanted to imagine themselves in the house, not the people who live there now. Josh kept running into signs that said things like, infested, beware of ghosts, and mold! One also dropped a book from the balcony, scaring the bejesus out of everyone there. In his interview, Josh said the girls were seriously ruining the showings. Some buyers might laugh it off, but at $9 million, it tends not to be funny. One buyer jetted after seeing the infested sign. Afterward, Josh told Randi that the girls were sabotaging the showings, and she swore it wouldn’t happen again. In his interview, he said he couldn’t yell at him, since they weren’t his kids, but Randi was also a huge client. It could cost him half a million. He hoped this wasn’t what his daughter was going to be like.  

James or David said in his interview that it was a pita having EW co-listing. She was an agent with too much emotion in the deal. We saw clips of her kibbitzing the people doing the staging. The owner being there for the showings wasn’t the preferred way to list. They were going to have to divide and conquer. They agreed that three agents would be overwhelming, so they’d separate. EW didn’t let anyone get a word in edgewise, and James, or maybe it was David, said she couldn’t take any criticism. When someone didn’t like something, she was too emotional, and it turned off potential buyers. One agent said she didn’t think it was her client’s style, and EW said, then perhaps it wasn’t for her client, and she should do more research. Yeah, not a good look.

Tracy went to see her mom, and in her interview, she said, they were very close, and her mom was her go-to when she was having a bad day. Her mom wouldn’t try to fix it, but just hear her. After telling her mom that she got laid all the time when mom asked how her boyfriend was, Tracy said she was excited about selling her sister’s place, but it was a lot of pressure. Ben, an agent she’d shown the property to, called while she was there, and said his clients were interested in grabbing the house before it went to market. They didn’t want to get into a bidding war. He was prepared with $26 million, but Tracy said she knew that would be a no. Ben asked what the bottom line price was, and Tracy said she would. But not before she wailed to her mother about the scenario in her head where she didn’t sell the house, was fired, and her sibling relationship ruined forever. She told her mom there was a lot at stake, and her mom suggested she let the hurt go. She was fabulous at what she did; she always had been, and always would be. In Tracy’s interview, she said she needed to get out of her own way. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be able to follow through. She wanted to prove to her sister that she was right to hire her this time. She called her sister, and asked if she was still agreeable to $27 million. We saw a clip of them discussing it, and Tracy wondered, why run the risk when they could end up with lower offers when it went to market? Her sister was good with it, and Tracy called Ben back. It seemed they had a deal, with Tracy looking at a $675K commission. Her mom enjoyed watching Tracy in action, and in her interview, Tracy said she’d come full circle. Whether it was a CEO or her sister, she could handle it. It was a big deal, and they were both still alive.

It was time for JoshF and Bobby to go back home, but Josh promised Suzanne he’d be on top of the listing. He asked Suzanne to do an impression of Chrissy Snow (Three’s Company) which she graciously did, although it’s not as cute when you’re not a kid anymore. She did, however, impress me with her closet, and told Josh that the nude Manolo Blahnik was called the Suzanne. Everyone had fun with her wardrobe, Josh putting a Carmen Miranda style fruit basket on his head. Feeling inspired, he then took a bubble bath in the outside tub. In his interview, he said there was nothing like this in Palm Springs, and he wanted to find the broker or client who understood this kind of property. As the others gathered around him, he said he couldn’t tell potential buyers that the bathtub experience was phenomenal if he hadn’t tried it. It didn’t get any better than this.

Next time, Fredrik commandeers a double-decker bus, and hangs up traffic; JoshA continues to have problems with Randi’s girls at showings; and David and James want out if an offer isn’t taken.

💋 Kiss Today Goodbye…

The days might be shorter, but this one was pretty long. See you tomorrow for an entrée of soap, with sides of tea and quotes. Until then, stay safe, stay walking your talk, and stay knowing it might be time to reassess things if you’ve been holding a grudge for over ten years.

October 6, 2021 – No Soap Or Radio, Dallas Rides In, a Goodbye, Celebrating the Ox In Beverly Hills, Rumors, Dropped, Liar, Defending Erika, Going Down, Dead Talk, New Halloween & the Countdown Begins

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

No GH today. All it said on their FB page was that it was due to ongoing news coverage, but no indication as to coverage of what. It was a network decision, since there was nothing new online either. I was pretty surprised when I turned it on, and there was Cyrus playing Chairman of the hospital, and Todd Franco was walking around. Instead, a little soap news…

🐴 Austin Was Taken…

So who is Dallas Kirby anyway?

🥀 Another Goodbye…

The soap world has had a lot of losses so far this year.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Crystal was preparing for a Chinese New Year party – the Year of the Ox – she was throwing at an Asian restaurant she’d rented for the occasion. She took Erika there for a looksee, and Erika said something about it being in Kill Bill. LisaR said the same thing later, but while it looked similar to restaurant where O-Ren (Lucy Lui) hangs with her crew, I’m pretty sure that place is in Tokyo. In her interview, Crystal told us that whatever happens on New Year’s Day (or maybe Eve; it was unclear) would represent the next year. Since Erika was still mad at Sutton, Crystal was concerned. Kathy met with architect Jesse and builder Aiden at a ginormous 18,000 square foot house she was having built. She and husband Richard were originally going to move in, but Richard reminded her of all the good times they’d had in the house they were already in, and she changed her mind. My guess is, he probably just didn’t want the hassle of having to move in his 70s or whatever. Not to mention they’d be putting the new one on the market in the $52 million range. Maybe the guys from Million Dollar Listing can broker that. In Sutton’s interview, she said she could fit three of her houses into Kathy’s new one. She and Kathy discussed the trip to Del Mar, and Sutton admitted she thought things with Erika had been a little strange. In her interview, she said, it would be nice to think things were back to normal, but wondered how that was possible when it had been so volatile. Garcelle wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue with her dating coach. She’d gone on a tailgate date with her match – who’d brought sushi and champagne – but he wasn’t her type. He wasn’t as spectacular as his photos. She wondered where his abs were. She’d expected him to show up shirtless.

Because she’s dense, in LisaR’s interview, she thought she and Garcelle had progressed. I thought it was more like Garcelle was proceeding with caution. We flashed back to when the women poked at Garcelle at dinner until she finally cried, which LisaR called being vulnerable and said was beautiful. It would be if they were all decent people. Garcelle wanted LisaR to reach out to Denise, but in her interview, LisaR said her relationship with Denise was her business. She’d do what she wanted when she felt like doing it. It would be when it felt organic and natural, which was ironic, since nothing about LisaR is organic or natural. She told Garcelle, when it was time, she’d do it, which probably meant, never. In Garcelle’s interview, she said, if LisaR reached out, it would show her growth. She wanted to see more action and less talk with LisaR. Good luck with that.

Everyone trickled in to the party, which began with cocktails outside. In Sutton’s interview, she said she was willing to let go of Erika threatening her, but not so much what she’d read and heard about the situation. She didn’t need to worry though, since Erika had turned the tap back to cold, and ignored Sutton. In Garcelle’s interview, she said she’d thought Sutton and Erika were doing better, but that was a hi/bye for sure. Mauricio, who was most likely stoned, banged on the Chinese gongs at the front of the restaurant. The coolest thing was a dude making candy zodiac animals, and putting them on sticks. I want to know where to get those. Kathy brought her friend Elliot (who we’ve seen before) as her escort, and for a moment, I thought she’d sprung Tom. They look an awful lot alike.

The décor was absolutely beautiful, and Crystal said she wanted to transport everyone to Asia. Everyone sat down, and Rob raised his glass, and said, true friends didn’t make problems disappear, but they didn’t disappear when problems came. Crystal said the women had little red envelopes with money in them, and they would get it back a hundredfold after feeding the animal. Or something to that effect. Kyle looked like she was starting to panic, asking, what animal? over and over. Then she nearly hit the ceiling when a Chinese percussion band began to play in the balcony. Chinese dragons came out, and the women put the envelopes in their mouths. I would have loved to be at this party, except not with this group. No surprise, the food was fabulous, and dumplings are one of my all-time favorite foods. For whatever crazy reason – i. e. screen time – Kyle said Sutton swept things under the rug. Sutton didn’t think so, but said she didn’t want any ill will between her and Erika. And then there were crickets. Lots and lots of crickets. In Erika’s interview, she said she didn’t need an apology from someone who was willing to condemn her. Sutton said she thought she could speak for everyone in that they all wanted Erika to come out of this shining bright. Erika told them that she had nothing to say.

They went back outside where there was a dessert bar, where there were many impressive confections. In Sutton’s interview, she wondered why she was trying so hard with Erika. Then she wondered what these women even saw in Erika. I told her, thank you. I wanted to like Erika. I tried to like Erika. But even before this, she ran hot and cold, and got irrationally angry at times. Sutton told Kyle that Erika made people afraid to say anything. While everyone had a last cocktail, Erika told Sutton that she’d thought they were friends, and she’d needed Sutton to have more faith in who she was. Sutton wanted a one-on-one, but Erika said she needed time to trust Sutton. Sutton said she also wanted to be able to trust Erika, and know she could speak freely and not get the lion’s claws. Erika said that’s why she was waiting. Erika said, this life is not for wimps, but I wasn’t sure if she meant that collectively, or was just talking about her so-far-above-our life.  

Since it was the finale, everyone had their final say, and there was text on what they’d been doing, none of which was all that interesting. Sutton was still waiting on that talk with Erika, but had moved out of Kyle’s house. Six months after her six week deadline. Kyle put the house on the market after Sutton’s departure. She was still tight with Kathy, and had finally gotten Kim’s new phone number. Knowing Kim, it’s possible she might have just forgotten it. Dorit had added some ready-to-wear gowns to her collection, and designed a special reunion gown for herself. PK named it, The Reunion, because he’s so original.

Due to Harry’s influence, LisaR was adding acrylic nails to her beauty line. I don’t want to know. She also now approved of Scott and Amelia’s relationship, since they’d called it quits. Garcelle was back in the studio to film The Real, and was taking a break from dating. Unless Brad Pitt called. Freshman Housewife Crystal said it had been fascinating to see how the friendships among the women morphed. Which I guess was her way of saying, wow, these women are close, then stab each other in the back, then forget what just happened. She was still color-coding her life, and hoped to visit her pop-star brother Jeff in China. Erika claimed she’d faced down everyone’s questions to the best of her ability, and was never going to apologize. Her way of saying, she managed to avoid answering any questions too directly, and back off, bitch. The text said she appreciated the support of her ass kissers true friends, although her friend circle had gotten smaller.

I would have liked a little less crap, and more of Crystal’s party.

Next, the Reunion. I believe it’s in four parts, so it should be a doozy.

🍾 After-party note. On Watch What Happens Live, people voted online about the level of Erika’s honesty from one to ten. She got a four.

📰 Spreading the News…

Camille stirs the pot of tea Kyle’s been making.

🎥 The Camera Don’t Lie…

I think sometimes they forget the world is watching

🗣 Opinions Are Like…

No surprise Kelly put her two cents in.

👯‍♂️ Last One Standing…

The Chief Brownnoser has spoken.

She did say she didn’t know the whole story, but I don’t think she’s looking all that hard either.

🍸 Say It Ain’t So…

Although I really think Jax is the only one who should have gotten the boot.

⚰️ Jerky McJerkface…

Angela Kang tells us what’s up with the citizens of the Commonwealth.

https://ew.com/tv/walking-dead-sebastian-milton-promises-broken-angela-kang-interview/

🎃 It’s Coming Closer…

Twenty-four days til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!

https://people.com/movies/jamie-lee-curtis-picks-up-kyle-richards-halloween-kills-featurette/

🏂 Slip Sliding Away…

Hopefully, soap tomorrow, and perhaps even some high-priced property. But for now, stay safe, stay going big or going home, and stay the hell out of Erika’s business, lest you get the lion’s claws.

October 5, 2021 – Valentin Wakes Up In New Surroundings, a VanderVacay In Palm Springs & More Palms

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Curtis is getting ready to lock up at The Savoy, when Portia comes in. She says it looks like she’s too late for a drink, but he says, for you, this place is always open. He asks what she’ll have, and she says, surprise me.

Dante asks if Dallas spends much time in Monte Carlo, and she says, as much time as she spends anywhere. He says, so she travels a lot? and she says he asks a lot of questions; why is that? Outside, Sam takes a key out of the wallet she lifted.

Victor asks if Peter is all settled in, and Peter says he is. The accommodations are fine. Victor says, certainly better than the cell Peter would be in if he hadn’t managed to extract him from Nixon Falls. Peter asks if Victor wants a thank you, but Victor says he wants Peter to honor the terms of their agreement.

Anna goes to Chloe’s room, and asks the guard if there have been any changes. He says there’s a nurse with her now, and Anna asks if any visitors have come to see Chloe, but he says, no. She calls Valentin and gets voicemail. She says she’s sorry she had to leave, but she’s at the US Consulate. Call her when he gets this. Robert says, bloody hell. How did she beat him there?

Valentin wakes up handcuffed in Drew’s cell. Drew asks if he’s awake, and tells him, welcome to hell.

Anna asks what Robert is doing there, and he says, her first. She says she’s waiting to speak to Chloe Jennings, the woman who was hired to be Maxie’s baby nurse before Peter replaced her with a psycho. He says, what a coincidence. So is he. She says, he’s not. She’s actually an active WSB agent. He’s the DA in Port Charles. She thinks it’s a little far from his jurisdiction. He says, Maxie’s family. Someone’s stolen her child. Whatever contacts he has within the Bureau, he’s going to use them to get that kid back. They would be better off working together than alone. She says she’s not working alone.

Valentin says, he’s Drew Cain, and Drew says, yep. Valentin thinks he’s been drugged, and Drew says, that would be a safe bet. He was pretty out of it when the guards brought him in. Valentin asks where they are, and Drew says Valentin would know better than he would. What’s the last place he remembers? Valentin says he was drinking in a tavern in a small village on the island of Crete. Drew says, Crete. Of course (🍷). He figured he was somewhere in Greece. A lot of the guards speak Greek, and you can hear the ocean if you really listen. He thanks Valentin, and says, if nothing else, he finally knows his location. Valentin asks if he’s been locked up there this whole time, and Drew says, for two years, and Valentin doesn’t look that surprised to see him. Valentin says, he’s working with Anna Devane, and Drew asks how she is. He says they were drinking together. He doesn’t know. She was as drunk as he was. Drew says, maybe they only drugged Valentin, and Valentin says he hopes so. Drew says, sorry he interrupted. Valentin was about to tell him how he knew he was alive. Valentin says Drew managed to phone Sam, who told Anna, and said there was a possibility Drew survived the plane crash. Drew says, there was no plane crash. It was all staged to cover up his abduction. Valentin says, by Peter August? and Drew says, he was involved, but the guy who’s been keeping him prisoner all this time is actually a relative of Valentin’s – Victor Cassadine.

Victor says he’s provided Peter with a lot of help, and Peter says, it seems events have escalated recently. Victor says, not only recently; for years now. Peter needed a place to warehouse Drew, and he obliged. Peter says, not out of the goodness of his heart. Victor wanted Drew for his own ends. Victor says, to be of any use to him, Drew has to follow his orders. That’s why Peter agreed to give him the means to access the conditioning installed by Peter’s father. He’s still waiting.

Dante says, he and Dallas only just met, and he’s in her hotel room. He’s just trying to get to know her better. She says she’s a proud graduate of Texas A&M – go Aggies. She wanted to get an MBA, but didn’t want student loan debt, so she took a job with a defense contractor who sent her overseas. One job led to another, and she never made it back to business school, but she did manage to start her own consulting firm. He asks what she consults about, and she says, anything anybody pays her for. Now it’s her turn to ask questions. What does he want? Sam comes into the room, acting flustered, and says she’s so sorry. She guesses this isn’t their room. Dallas asks if this is a robbery. There’s 10,000 euros in her bag, and her bracelet is real. Take them, and she’ll give them a five minute head start before she calls security. Sam says they’re not here to rob her; they just want some information. Dante says, they’ll save her 10,000 euros and her bracelet, and would be grateful for her help. She says the two of them tried to scam her. Why should she tell them a damn thing?

Curtis says he hopes Portia isn’t disappointed in wine, as he pours her a glass. She says, not at all. He read her mind. She’s not really up for a signature cocktail with fifteen ingredients. Not that the drinks they make aren’t amazing,. He says, sometimes a little wine is all you need. The distributor sent this over for him to try. Tell him what she thinks. She takes a sip, and says she likes it very much. He says, he’ll order more, and she asks if he’s heard from Jordan. He says he called her yesterday, and she sounded good, so he checked with TJ, and he’s monitoring her case. It’s slow and go, but the numbers are headed in the right direction. She says she’s glad, and he says, him too. That was crazy at Roger Barstow’s house. If Portia hadn’t been there, he might not have gotten Jordan out in time.

Robert asks why Anna would continue to trust this snake, and she says, because Valentin is as motivated as she is to find Peter and stop him. Robert was right about Peter, and all his dire predictions came true because she and Valentin ignored the dangers. So now they’re trying to mitigate the damage. Doesn’t he see? He says she doesn’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell Valentin is playing her?

Valentin says, Victor Cassadine is dead, and Drew says, there’s a lot of that going around. Valentin asks why Victor would be keeping Drew prisoner, and Drew says he hasn’t seen Victor face-to-face, but Obrecht thinks it’s part of a bigger deal he has going with Peter. Valentin says, Liesl Obrecht? and Drew asks if she’s supposed to be dead too. Valentin says, just missing, and Drew says, she was here a few hours ago. They allowed her to give him medical attention. Valentin asks if he’s okay, and Drew says, a little banged up, but nothing serious. She gave him some antibiotics. Valentin says, so she’s working for Victor, but Drew says, she claims she’s Victor’s prisoner too. Valentin asks if he believes her, and Drew says, Victor and Peter are allies, and her hatred for Peter is very convincing. Valentin says he’s seen it first hand, and Drew says, Obrecht thinks that Victor is supposed to help Peter find his missing daughter, but she has no idea what’s in it for him. There’s got to be something. Valentin says he doesn’t know Victor, but knows his reputation. He doesn’t work for free; he always has an agenda. Drew says, Peter is racking up quite a debt. He wonders how Peter is going to pay it off.

Peter tells Victor, his father was an expert on mental conditioning, but he always installed at least two levels. Drew’s first level, which allowed Helena to control him, has already been disabled. Victor says, the second should be accessible through a simple key. Where’s the key? Peter says he hasn’t found it yet, and Victor says, after two years? He’s not looking hard enough. Peter says, it’s not like he can just open an instruction manual. It could be anything; a simple phrase, an image. Something his father would find easy to remember, but something no one else would think of as important. Victor says, if Peter’s father is the only one who knew the key, and he’s dead, why is he putting up with Peter?

Dante says Dallas told him about herself, so now he’ll tell her about himself. His name is Dante Falconari, and he’s a cop originally from Brooklyn. He roots for Notre Dame – go Irish. He introduces Sam and says he’s never asked her what college football team she roots for. She says she’s not really into college football. She’s more of a Giants fan. He says, wow. That means she has the strength of character to stay true in good times and in bad. Dallas asks if there’s a point here somewhere, and he says they have a close connection to the WSB, and he’s guessing she wouldn’t want them sniffing around her consulting business. It’s probably in her best interest to tell them what they want to know. Dallas says, which is what? and he asks if she’s ever done a job for David Henry Archer, aka Shiloh. She says, that bastard? Is he the reason for all this? Early on, they worked for the same defense contractor, but Arch was a field guy, basically a soldier; she did logistics. He always had a racket, some way to make money. She helped him out a couple times and took a cut of the profits, but she got a better gig, and they lost touch. Dante asks when she last heard from him, and she says, a couple years ago. He called her out of the blue. He had a job and was willing to pay generously. Dante asks, what was the job? and she says he hired her to fake a plane crash in the Gulf of Adan. He wanted it to look like a charter jet went down with no survivors.

Portia asks if Curtis has made any progress in the link between Jordan’s investigation and his. They sit at a table, and Curtis says, yes. Jordan wanted to interview Roger Barstow because he traveled to the US with Naomie Dreyfuss. Naomie Dreyfuss turned up dead in a hotel room a couple months back. She’s Hayden Barnes’s mother, so the theory is  that whoever tried to kill Hayden succeeded in killing Naomie. She says, but Curtis wanted to talk to Barstow about his time in Creighton-Clark; more specifically, Drew Cain’s time at Creighton-Clark. Curtis says he knows it’s a long shot, but he was hoping Barstow had some records that could lead them to where Drew is now. She says, so the million dollar question is, was Roger Barstow killed because of Naomie Dreyfuss or Drew Cain? He says, what if it’s both?

Sam asks if Dallas is saying there was no plane crash. It never happened. Dallas says, not as far as she knows, and Dante asks, how you fake a plane crash? Dallas says, it only works over deep waters. You get the make and model of the jet in question, and file a flight plan. The real jet follows the flight plan to a designated point, makes a distress call, turns off their beacons, and flies away. Meanwhile, a team dumps the wreckage of the same make and model of the jet in the ocean. Rescuers search the area, no bodies are recovered, and no one is looking for the real plane. Dante asks if she knows where the real flight landed, but she says, no idea. He asks if she knows who was on the plane, and she says, never asked; never wanted to know. He asks how much she was paid, and she says, two million, plus the cost of jet parts. He says, did she ever ask herself how Archer managed to pay it? and she says, he was just the go-between. Arch arranged the deal for a third party who could afford to pay.

Peter tells Victor, his father kept records, but not all in one place. His work took him all over the world; it’s a lot of ground to cover. Victor says he’s heard this before. It always sounded like an excuse; now it sounds like a stall. He opens the door, and Peter says he’d have more time to focus on the search if he knew his baby girl and her mother were safe and sound – with him. Victor says, so he’s expected to recover Peter’s baby with her mother, and return them to Peter. In exchange, Peter will keep looking for the key to Drew? It doesn’t sound like fair exchange to him. He’s not convinced Drew’s worth it. Peter says Victor has more than two years invested in the guy, not to mention all the personnel Drew took out trying to escape. Why give up when he’s so close to the payoff? Victor says, because Peter managed to lose his baby, and it’s going to cost him a lot of effort and influence to find her. Peter says, but Victor can find her.

Drew says, instead of focusing on what Victor is after, let’s stick to what we actually know. He asks what Valentin and Anna are doing in Crete, and Valentin wonders where he starts. The mother of Peter August’s daughter is Maxie Jones. Drew says, Obrecht told him all this. Peter hired a baby nurse, and replaced her with someone who works for him. That woman kidnapped the baby and handed her off to a third person, then died. Valentin says, that’s right; Peter’s nurse is dead. But amazingly, the nurse Maxie originally intended to hire is alive and in Crete. Drew says, Chloe Jennings? and Valentin asks how he knows that name. Drew says, because she was here too. They tried to break out together. They got as far as the parking lot, and he held off the guards so Chloe could make it to a car, and escape, but Russel, the guy Victor hired to run this place, was sure they’d track her, find her, and bring her back. Valentin says, Chloe was in a single car accident, and Drew asks if she was hurt. Valentin says, she was able to walk away, and got to a small village with a tavern – the same one where he was drinking. Then she passed out, but not before telling them her name, and that she was an American citizen. The locals contacted the authorities, and they took her to the American Consulate where she’s at the hospital. Drew asks, how is she? but Valentin doesn’t know. The last time he saw her, she was unconscious. Drew says he told her to go, and Valentin says, maybe she’s awake. The doctors said her condition wasn’t serious. Drew hopes so. Nothing in her life prepared Chloe for this place, but she handled it like a pro, and now she’s somewhere safe. Valentin asks how much Chloe knows, and Drew says, she only dealt with Russel. She doesn’t know anything about Victor and Peter. Valentin says, but she knows about Drew, doesn’t she?

Anna says she knows Robert doesn’t trust Valentin; she’s not asking him to. So if he would prefer their investigations to be separate, that’s fine by her. However, it does mean that when Chloe is able to answer their questions, she’ll take the lead. He asks if this means Valentin is going to sit in on these meetings. Neither of them are agents at the moment, and it occurs to him, if Valentin and Anna are working together, shouldn’t Valentin be there? Anna says, yeah. When Chloe turned up, she was in a little village… He says he read the report, and she says, she and Valentin went there to interview some of the locals. They had couple of drinks just to… smooth things over, and he stayed. He’s there still. Robert says, to interview potential witnesses. Or maybe he’s face down in an ashtray. That would be Robert’s choice. The guard says, Miss Jennings is awake.    

Anna shows Chloe her badge and says she’s a special agent with the WSB, and introduces Robert as agent emeritus. First, she wants to tell Chloe that she’s at the US Consulate medical facility. Chloe says, the nurse explained, and Anna says she’s notified the consul, and she’s on her way. She should be there shortly, so if Chloe wants to wait for her, that’s absolutely all right. Chloe asks if she’s in trouble, and Anna says, God no. They have reason to believe Chloe was abducted and transported there by an individual they’re currently investigating. She’s asking for Chloe’s help. Robert says they don’t expect Chloe to take them on faith; she can call the consul and have them checked out. Chloe says she’s from Port Charles, and they’re famous there. She’ll tell them everything she can.

Valentin says he knows Drew wants to talk facts, but he needs to speculate for a second. Drew says they’ve got nothing else to do, and Valentin says, hypothetically, Anna hasn’t been drugged. She circles back to Chloe and Chloe’s awake. She tells Anna that she was held captive there, but escaped thanks to Drew Cain. Now Anna knows Drew is alive and being held captive. If she hasn’t noticed that Valentin has disappeared already, she will soon. Drew says, and Valentin was in the same place Chloe showed up. Valentin says, that’s where she’ll start the search. The WSB will get involved, and get security camera footage, and satellite imagery. He doesn’t care how well-hidden Victor has this place, Anna will find them sooner rather than later. Drew asks if they sit and wait, but Valentin says, no. Peter’s not an idiot. He now knows the security of this place has been compromised. Drew says, so he’s got to move, and Valentin says, or cut his losses. Drew says, that’s just beautiful. He’s been held up there for two years, and now Victor or Peter are going to have to kill him to cover their ass. Valentin says, wait a minute. They’ve kept him alive this long; it’s possible Drew still has something one or both of them want. He may be the liability. Drew says, then one or both of them is about to die, and Valentin says, hypothetically. Drew says, then he needs something from Valentin.   

Dante and Sam go back to their room, and Sam makes a call. Dante asks who she’s calling, and she says, Anna, but you know what? She can’t call. She doesn’t even know what to say to Anna. They have no evidence. All they did was listen to a story. He asks if she doesn’t believe Dallas, and she says she wants to, but that’s the start of a good con; you tell the mark what they want to hear. He asks if she thinks Dallas made it up, and she says, it’s possible. He says, but why? There’s the beginning of a good police investigation – two things; who benefits and what’s the motive? Not Shiloh; he’s dead. Not Dallas; she’s already been paid. Sam says, maybe she was paid to distract them, and point them in a different direction, but he says, she didn’t point them in any direction. She didn’t know who was on the plane, she doesn’t know where the plane landed. All she said was that she dumped some plane parts in the Gulf of Adan. Which fits perfectly with the WSB’s thin file on the incident. Sam says, there was nothing to investigate because the crash never happened. It was Drew on that call. He’s been alive this whole time.

Victor says he did a deep dive into the woman Peter hired to replace Chloe Jennings. Another loose end he had to warehouse for Peter. Peter says, Victor let Chloe escape, and Victor says, Drew Cain made that possible, who he can’t fully control because Peter failed to provide him with the key. Peter says, it seems they’re going in circles with all of this, and Victor says, agreed. One thing they can do is decide if they just call it quits and go their separate ways, or do they make one final effort at a mutually beneficial arrangement? Peter says he wants his daughter back, and her mother with her. Make it happen, and he’ll get Victor the key. Victor says he’d better, and Peter says he’ll get back to work immediately.

Drew asks if Valentin is still living in Port Charles, and Valentin says he and his daughter are staying at the Quartermaines. Drew asks how that happened, but Valentin says, it’s a long story he’s not certain they have time for. What does Drew need from him? Drew says he was wondering if Valentin had seen his daughter, and Valentin says, Scout? Yes, quite a lot. She and Danny are inseparable, and have rooms at the Quartermaines. Drew asks what Scout is like, and Valentin says, she’s lovely. She’s bright, articulate, and inquisitive. She’s a tomboy who likes to climb trees, and loves to go exploring with Annabelle II. Drew loves that she has access to a dog, and Valentin says, his daughter Charlotte is taking ballet, so now Scout wants to take ballet too. A guard comes in, and tells Valentin, let’s go. Valentin is taken away by another two guards, and he tells Drew, get out of this alive. Find Peter and kill him. Drew says he’s way ahead of Valentin.

Curtis says, Creighton-Clark, where Roger Barstow worked, was a sketchy organization; basically a front for dirty ops in the WSB. Portia says, sounds ominous, and he says, the official story is that the place blew up, and everyone with ties to it is either dead or in prison. But the official story could be wrong. She says, that would mean the dirty ops are still running, and maybe Barstow was a part of it. Maybe Naomie was too, and they killed her to keep quiet, and killed Barstow for the same reason. He says, maybe, but there’s no way to prove it.

Sam tells Dante, finally they’re making progress. They know the plane crash was staged, and Peter caused it. He says, Dallas didn’t say anything about Peter, but Sam says, she did say there was a third party involved who was able to pay, and Peter already admitted causing Drew’s crash. He says, there’s something they’re missing; an element they haven’t seen. Peter couldn’t have done this on his own. He had help. She says, they don’t know who that person is, so can they not worry about that now, and focus on Peter? He says, Peter’s a fugitive. They have no idea where he sent Drew. He doesn’t know what their next step is. Sam says Drew can help them. He’s obviously fighting to come home. Dante asks if Sam has thought about what happens when he does.

Valentin is brought to Victor, who tells the guards to wait outside. They uncuff Valentin, and leave. Valentin says, Uncle Victor, alive and well, I see, and Victor says, he must admit he was anticipating a bigger reaction. Valentin says Victor can thank his cellmate for that, and Victor says he wasn’t sure how much Drew understood of his circumstances. Valentin says, Liesl Obrecht filled him in on the high points, including Victor’s involvement. Where is she, by the way? Victor says, she’s safe, and Valentin says, is she? His friend Peter hates her, and is the antithesis of self-restraint. Victor says, that’s why he brought Valentin there. He needs Valentin’s help.

Anna asks Chloe to start with the circumstances that led to her disappearance, and Chloe says she was on a job interview. An expectant mother needed a nurse for the final few weeks of her pregnancy, and to help out when the baby was born. Robert asks if she remembers the mother’s name, and Chloe says, Maxie Jones. She was supposed to go to Maxie’s apartment, but the baby’s father asked to meet her ahead of time. She’s used to anxious partners, so she agreed. Anna asks the father’s name, and Chloe says, Peter August. They met at the MetroCourt. He seemed nice enough; a little type A, but that’s not unusual for first time fathers. She answered his questions and left the interview. She remembers walking out of the hotel, turning on Van Nuys, and that’s it. The next thing she knew, she was in a cell. They didn’t tell her where or why. Anna asks, who’s they? and Chloe says, the guards, and Russell. Robert asks who Russell is, and she says, the man who runs the place. He knew she was a nurse, and said she might as well be useful. He had her give basic first aid to the guards, and eventually to the other prisoner. Anna says, there was another prisoner? and Chloe says, he helped her escape. He said he was a Navy SEAL and could hold off the guards. Anna asks his name, and she says, Drew Cain.  

Drew traces Scout’s name that he’s written on the wall. The door opens, and he says, you spineless bastard. Finally you show your face. It’s Peter.

Curtis asks if Portia would like another glass of wine, and she says, she’d like one, but she’d better not. She was getting carried away with all the espionage lingo and dirty ops. He says she had a good theory going; it made a lot of sense. She says, maybe she missed her calling. She puts her glass on the bar, and he says he thinks she’s great at her calling. She’s a gifted doctor, and helps people. It’s got to make her proud. Not to mention she raised a wonderful young woman. She says, no argument there. To be perfectly honest, part of the reason why she came there tonight is, she was avoiding going home. He imagines it’s probably lonely with Trina living in the dorms, and she says she spent eighteen years parenting Trina. Guiding her, shielding her, lecturing her at times. Now her job is to step back and let Trina find her own way, which she’s totally committed to doing, but it’s harder than she thought. He says, maybe he can help, and she asks if he has another case. He says, no more cases. He was thinking dinner, maybe at a club. He can check out the competition. She says she’d like that very much, and he says, let’s go.

Robert asks Chloe to tell him again how she escaped, and she says, it was Drew’s idea. He said she had to earn the guards’ trust. He’d stolen a pen from Russell. He was going to use it to pick the lock on his handcuffs. But instead, he told her to turn him in. So she did.  

Sam tells Dante, if he’s asking about Scout, she’s going to have to get to know her father all over again. If he’s asking about her, she realized she didn’t have a child with Drew. She had a child with a man she thought was Jason. Drew is a man who grew up in a state home, and after high school, went into the Navy and became a SEAL. She doesn’t know him. When they were together, he didn’t know himself. We see Anna is calling Dante, but he doesn’t notice or is just ignoring the phone. He says, three years ago, he wouldn’t have known what Sam was talking about, but after going through what he went through, he gets it. The way Dr. Kirk messed with his head… you get the feeling you have no sense of self. You don’t trust yourself for who you are anymore. That’s what’s terrifying. Sam stopping him from killing Peter was a turning point for him. Ever since, he’s been getting help from Doc, his mother, and her. She helped him find his way. There’s no going back, but he can find a way forward. Sam says, that’s what Drew is going to have to do. He’s going to have to figure out who he is now, and what he wants now. Dante says, he’s going to need help, and she says she’ll be there to help him, because he’s Scout’s dad. The Drew she thought she loved doesn’t exist. In fact, he never did.

Robert asks if the ruse worked, and Chloe says, they trusted her enough, so that the next time they brought her to Drew’s cell, she tricked one into coming in. Drew knocked him out, and took his keys. They made it outside the door. That’s when Drew sent her on alone, and went back to hold off the guards. He was so brave; they have to help him. Robert says they have to find him first, and Anna says, anything Chloe could tell them about the location of the compound would help.

Valentin says, the last time he saw Victor would have been on Cassadine Island before he was sent off to school. He must have been six. Victor says, but Valentin remembers him? and Valentin says, not really. Photographs, stories… He was the same one, the surviving brother, but not for long, not if he’s working with Peter. He’s not going to survive that. Peter will double-cross him. Victor says that’s why he needs Valentin’s help. Peter will kill them both unless they work together.

Chloe tells Robert and Anna, it’s by the ocean; that’s all she knows. Anna says Chloe may know more than she realizes. Take them through what she did, everything she remembers. Chloe says she got in the guard’s car, and floored it. She was sliding all over the road, but kept going fast as she could; she knew they’d be after her. She saw lights in the distance, and drove toward them. She missed a turn, and drove into a ditch. She must have hit her head and blacked out. When she came to, she walked toward the lights. There was a little town with a little bar. Some people were out front, and she told them her name. She said she was an American and needed help. Then she woke up there. Anna asks if Chloe has any idea how far the compound was from where she crashed, but Chloe says, it’s hard to say. Twenty miles? It was dark, and she was just trying to stay on the road. Robert says she’s been incredibly helpful, and very brave, and Chloe says she still doesn’t understand why this happened to her. Drew didn’t know either. Who’s their suspect? Anna says, he’s the last man she met in Port Charles – Peter August.   

Peter says he’d hate to have to shoot Drew, but he will. Drew says, shooting an unarmed man in handcuffs is definitely Peter’s style. Peter says he’s offended. Drew doesn’t want to thank Peter for keeping him alive all this time? Drew says, like Peter did with his brother? This is the same crap he pulled on Jason. Peter made the world think Jason was dead, but kept him on ice until he could use him. Peter says, there were some complications with Jason, but there won’t be with Drew. Drew says, screw him. He’s a Navy SEAL. Peter can’t force him to do anything. Peter says, wrong, and holds up The Tower tarot card. He says, you’re active… Soldier. Drew says, reporting for duty, and Peter puts the card in his pocket. Peter says, you have a new mission.

Tomorrow, Maxie tells Austin that she’s not the only one who could use protection; Victor says, Peter is the guilty party, not him; Valentin wants to know how Anna is being protected; and someone shoots at Robert and Anna.

Vanderpump Rules

Schwartz did some kind of Soul Cycle rip-off class with Brock, and In Brock’s interview, he said if there was a physical training thing you’ve heard of, he’s tried it. In Schwartz’s  interview, he said Brock looked like something out of Greek mythology. Schwartz felt that he got screwed, and theorized on the perfect thigh-to-junk ratio, since it had been on his mind for a long time. He came up with 1 to 1.618 being the perfect ratio, and said it was difficult to grasp, but luckily he went to Florida State. Apparently, he also has too much time on his hands. Tom Sandoval whined to Brock that Katie had been out of line, arguing with him over the new restaurant name. In Brock’s interview, he said Schwartz and Sandy’s was trash. Personally, work on it. I like it. He’s a man who gets to the point. He said Tom had to respect Katie as his business partner’s wife, and Tom got super emotional, saying it was really about what he and Schwartz had done together. He had the feels because LVP had been inspired by that, and made them partners in TomTom. Sandoval said he wasn’t having somebody who did nothing but build Legos during quarantine tell him that he was uninspired. I dunno. Building stuff with Legos can definitely be inspired. In Schwartz’s interview, he said it was really him who said the name was uninspired, and we saw a clip backing that up. God forbid he should actually communicate this to Tom. And please feel free to drink when you hear the word inspired.

LVP met Ariana for lunch, not at one of her restaurants. In Ariana’s interview, she said when she was working at SUR, she never knew she and Lisa would have a relationship where they were Having lunch together. Lisa understood Ariana’s struggles with mental health, depression, and anxiety because she’d been there. Lisa asked about the new business, and Ariana said Tom was excited about Lisa being supportive. They discussed Katie wanting to be involved, and Ariana said she thought Katie having a strong opinion stressed the Toms out. And by that, she meant Tom Sandoval. She told Lisa that she and Sandoval had taken out a home equity loan, but it was only against Tom’s half of the equity. 😯 In Ariana’s interview, she said if anything happened, Tom would be financially responsible, and her financial responsibilities would remain intact. Um… In Lisa’s interview, she said it didn’t work like that. If the loan is in default, the bank doesn’t take half a house. Thank you, Lisa. Ariana told Lisa about Scheana and Lala falling out, and how Lala ripped Ariana to shreds in her podcast (slight exaggeration). She didn’t know who Lala was sometimes. Ariana wondered where this was coming from. Lisa asked if they weren’t going on a trip, but Ariana said, it’ll be fine. I doubt it will be anything even close to fine. Even on a good day, these trips are never fine.

James paid a visit to Sandoval, and spilled that he was going to ask Raquel to marry him. In James’s interview, he said Tom was amazing, helping him plan the proposal. The way Tom described the proposal scene, it sounded like he was bringing in a circus – literally. In his interview, James said that Raquel cherished her memories of Coachella. It hadn’t happened in the last two years, so he asked himself, what was the most romantic place in the world? The rave tent at Coachella. James told Tom that he did a manly hike with Raquel’s dad, and had asked for his blessing. Her father said he could throw James in a ditch right there, and then told him, welcome to the family, but it wasn’t a yes. In his interview, James said his family loved Raquel, but for him, it was like Mission Impossible. Call him Tom-effing-Cruise. Tom (not Cruise) said Raquel was going to lose it.

Everyone packed for Palm Springs, and in Lala’s interview, she said, before she had Ocean, her suitcase was filled with booty shorts and crop tops. Now, it was half mom jeans, and half Ocean’s stuff and her breast pump. She was freaked, waiting to see if she’d be on the New York Times Best Seller List. She’d been aggressive about it, even signing books when no one asked her to. She got all weepy, and I thought, geez, I’d be glad to just get something published. Randall said if she let the list take away her accomplishment, she was cheating herself. She told Randall that she looked at things mostly in black and white; she wasn’t good with grey. She and Ariana were in the grey, and having a kid at home was the only thing that had stopped her from drowning Ariana in her own pond. Randall said he was scared, and I didn’t blame him.  

The Toms went to Villa Rosa – Puffy! – and while Schwartz filled a watering jug for Lisa, Tom said he was going to violate James’s trust. He told her that James was proposing, and in Lisa’s interview, she said she was happy for them, but also worried. Raquel deserved the best, and she hoped James could be the person he wanted to be. Schwartz returned with the water, and said, if reincarnation was a thing, he wanted to come back as a turtle at Villa Rosa. Tom said he wanted to come back as a pony, and Schwartz asked if that was because Lisa could ride him. She told Schwartz that was too easy, and I had to agree. She asked about the Toms’ wives involvement in the new restaurant, and Tom wailed about Katie saying the name was uninspired. In Lisa’s interview, she said she was passionate about names –Villa Blanca, PUMP, TomTomSchwartz and Sandy’s, eh, not so much. Schwartz asked if Lisa didn’t like it, and finally admitted the uninspired comment came from him. The words had rubbed him the wrong way, and he’d asked Katie to plant a seed of doubt. In Tom’s interview, he said he wasn’t stoked that Schwartz had been sneaky and shady about wanting him to change the name, but instead of Katie, he should have had Lisa come to him. Someone he respected. Lisa asked why Schwartz was such a p*ssy.

Schwarz told Katie that he was glad she wanted to be involved, but her conversation with Tom hadn’t gone well. In Katie’s interview, she said, Schwartz wanted her to put doubt in Tom’s mind, and now he wants her to apologize. She was pretty sure Schwartz said, til death do us part to her, not Sandoval. Everyone headed to Palm Springs, including Charli, but Scheana and Brock were going to be late. I wasn’t paying attention, so I don’t know if they rented a house, or it was an Airbnb, or what, but it was big and impressive. They gathered in the kitchen, and Ariana said Scheana and Brock were coming with Lala and Randall, who had a house down the road. Lala found out she didn’t make the NYT list, and in her interview, she said she’d put her heart and soul into the book. She didn’t know why she was so emotional. She was proud of the book, and it had been a dream come true for her to be a published author, but not making the list made her feel extremely rejected. Randall told her he’d gotten a cake that was going to say congratulations, but had second thoughts, and told them to change it. I was surprised she didn’t say it was his fault.

Charli brough along a synthetic head she’d used during her time at esthetician school. She’d named it Buffy, and I thought it was creepy AF. James announced that there would be a pickleball tournament tomorrow, and in Ariana’s interview, she informed us that pickleball combined the elements of badminton, table tennis and tennis. She said it sounded like it was for old people, which seemed judgy and probably not true, since it involves running around after a ball. Tom added that the following day they were having a mini Coachella. Lala and Ariana’s altercation was brought up, and in Charli’s interview, she said she’d known gangsters, and Lala wasn’t one of them. Sandoval told everyone that tonight, they were having an off-the-runway show, and they all dressed up in decidedly weird ways. Brock and Scheana arrived with Lala and Randall. Lala was super bummed that she wasn’t on the list, but still proud. In Scheana’s interview, she said Brock was a Jack-of-all-trades. He cooked, cleaned, baked, and sewed. Where can I get one of these? She said she didn’t know if he could hang a TV in under seven minutes, but he would try. They put on the fashion show, which culminated with Schwartz jumping in the pool. In Katie’s interview, she said only Sandoval would think up a contest focused on what he excelled at, be the host, the only judge, and also a contestant. When he won, she said, shocker.   

Katie asked Lala what was up with her and Ariana. She thought they were coming from two different places, and in Katie’s interview, she said they were both right, because they both felt a certain way, but they were also both wrong, to be angry because of how the other one felt. Randall said Schwartz did the Schwartz Shuffle whenever he asked about the new bar. Schwartz said it was complicated, and in his interview, when a producer asked what the concept of the bar was, all Schwartz did was laugh. I’m not sure what that means, but Randall said he’d never bring Schwartz to a meeting. In her interview, Katie said she wished Schwartz would be more assertive, and have more confidence when talking about something he’s passionate about. Ariana asked if James was ever going to DJ at SUR again, but he said he’d had a slip-up, and his anger got the best of him. He’d disrespected Lisa’s son. We flashed back to that, and James said, it was a test, and he failed. He had to learn from it. In a dual interview, James said, he never wanted to be that guy in the couple who drags the other down, and Raquel said what he did reflected on her. Schwartz said James had made leaps and bounds, and Sandoval said they’d all done something like that. Lala said everyone was telling James, it’s okay, this happens, but she didn’t get the same treatment. She came for Raquel two years ago, and even her friends told her to muzzle herself, and get back in her cage. The way Ariana acted at Scheana’s birthday was horrible, then Charli said, she was just hurt. Charli told Lala that she was allowed to say what she wanted to. Lala was like, stay out of it, bitch, and Charli said, don’t call her a bitch.

Lala and Charli got into it, and Charli said she’d been nothing but nice. Lala said she’d never been mean to Charli, but Charli begged to differ. She’d picked on Charli about what she ate. In Charli’s interview, she said she’d had issues with food since she was a girl. For someone who just said they knew gangsters, she got all emotional and weepy, and said she hadn’t come there to tell them that childhood trauma was the reason she didn’t eat things. In her interview, she said she was forced to eat certain things, and if she didn’t, punishment was involved. Other kids might get no desert, but her punishment was more intense, and not easy to deal with as a little girl. Lala had made comments that weren’t nice; everyone did. She told them that they were all a-holes, and in Charli’s interview, she said, when people bothered her about her food choices, she went back to being a four-year-old, anxious and defeated, who couldn’t control the circumstances.

Scheana took Charli inside, and Brock told Lala that he thought they should talk about it. Lala went in, and told Charli that she wasn’t a mind reader, and Charli said, instead, Lala made assumptions. Understand where it’s coming from, instead of just saying she’s a dumb bitch. Lala said the word bitch just flew out of her mouth like she was ordering Perrier, and in her interview, she said it was like an addiction. We saw 5000 different clips of her saying bitch, and she said it was all in how you delivered it. Lala told Charli, if Charli had an opinion she didn’t like, she might come at her. Charli said that wasn’t fair, and she thought they could relate more than disrelated [sic], which I don’t think is a real word. Charli said she was giving Lala a hug, even though she wasn’t a hugger, and Lala said she was a huge hugger. How was this friendship ever going to work?

Next time, pickleball, Brock talks about his ex-wife and kids, Ourchella happens, and Raquel wonders how James isn’t embarrassed by her. Yes, you read that right.

🔐 Escaping My Cell…

I have an early day, but join me tomorrow for a little soap, topped off with the latest in Erika Jayne news. Or as Bravo likes to call it, RHOBH. Until then, stay safe, stay stopping to smell the roses, and stay having confidence in what your passionate about. Don’t be a Schwartz.

October 4, 2021 – Nikolas Says Spencer Is Dead To Him, Heart Problems On Deck & Symphony

Standard

What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Monte Carlo, Monaco. Dante plays with a pair of dice at a casino, when Sam comes in wearing a cocktail dress. She says he’s smiling. Does that mean he approves? Does she look like a jet setter? He says she looks dressed to kill, an she says, hopefully it doesn’t come to that. Unless they find Drew.

Curtis tells Nika that he thinks a coin toss seems fair. Heads, he wins; tails, she wins. They toss, and Curtis says, she’s all yours. Have fun. Esme sits at the bar leaving a message for Spencer. She asks why he hasn’t picked up, and tells him to join her at this hot new club called The Savoy. They have so much to celebrate. Ava’s finally leaving his life, and this time, it’s for good. Nika asks how she can help Esme, and Esme says, it’s been quite the day, but she’s celebrating now. She’ll have a Cosmo with a twist, and make it with their best top-shelf vodka. Wow. 1999 called, and wants its drink back.

Nikolas says Spencer hated him because he left, and now he’s caused Ava to have to do the same thing to her little girl, and for what? There was no threat. They were happy. They were building a life, a family together. He would have welcomed Spencer into all of that. So why would Spencer do this? Does he hate Nikolas that much? Spencer says, no, he doesn’t hate Nikolas, and Nikolas says, then please tell him this is some horrible mistake; that none of it’s true. Ava walks in, and says, what isn’t true? Nikolas asks what she’s doing there, and she says she just had a very odd, very confusing encounter with Esme. She seemed to think they were heading to Bora Bora together. Then she spoke with Trina, who told her to get there as soon as possible. Obviously, she walked in on something. Would either one of them like to tell her what’s going on?

Nina walks into The Savoy, and Curtis says he was starting to think she took up permanent residence in that small town in paradise. She hugs him tight, and says he has no idea how good it is to see a friendly face. He asks, what’s wrong? and she says she messed up, big time. Maybe the biggest of her life, and the worst part is, she doesn’t know how to make it right.

Willow and Michael have French fries at Kelly’s and Willow says, there’s no way in the world she’d consider that movie a romantic comedy. He says he saw her laughing, and she says, wait. Does he realize this is their very first date night since they got back together? He promises it’s the first of many. Next time, he’ll even let her pick the movie. She says, deal, and now that Nina’s back in town, Wiley has one more option as a babysitter. He wonders if everything is okay with Nina; she seemed a little off. Josslyn comes by and says, mom didn’t tell them? Michael says, about what? and Josslyn sits down, saying, about Nina? About what she did to all of them?

Carly asks how Sonny’s appointment was with Dr. Sullivan, and Sonny says the doctor put him back on his old prescription, and said he was good. Carly says, that’s great, and Sonny asks if there’s something on her mind. She says, not something, someone – Nina. He says, what about Nina? and she says, Maxie came by earlier, and she knew the name of the town he’s been in this whole time, because Nina knew he was alive for almost a year, and didn’t tell anyone. And she knows why.

Sam says Dante is really pulling off the formalwear, and he says, thanks, he thinks. She says, it’s a compliment. It’s nice to see him out of his regular wardrobe. He thanks her, and says she looks absolutely incredible in that dress. She bites an olive off of the skewer from her martini, and thanks him. He says, it’s a good thing Sonny made it back to Port Charles; everything is back to normal. Whatever that means. They were able to hop on a flight to the French Riviera and follow up on that lead Harmony got them. She says, Shiloh’s fixer is somewhere in this casino, and he says, short of finding Peter, this Dallas Kirby guy is the best chance they have of finding Drew. She says, Harmony never said he’d tell them, so they have to be subtle about who they talk to. He suggests they win big, and a man and woman walk by and sit at a nearby table. Sam says she has an idea; follow her lead.

Nina tells Curtis, there you have it. She kept Sonny from his family for months, and made an even bigger enemy of Carly, and she may never see her grandson again. He says he has to admit it’s an incredible story, but it does seem a bit short-sighted to think she acted merely as revenge against Carly. She says, so he hasn’t lost all respect for her? and he says, they’ve all done things they’re not proud of. Their motivations are the blind side, but he doesn’t buy that she set out to hurt anyone. She says she didn’t want to hurt anyone, but people got hurt, and Sonny’s not the forgiving type. He takes her hand, and says, she’s a courageous woman, but he hopes she knows, whatever happens, she’s not alone. She thanks him for being so kind. She so appreciates it. Nika comes to the table, and tells Curtis that she needs his input on this ID. They have a problem.

At the bar, Esme says she can’t believe she has to leave Spencer a second message. Where is he? They did it. The wicked witch is dead. Come celebrate with her.

Spencer tells Ava that he was her stalker. The cockroach, the plastic hand, the vandalism to the gallery; it was all him. Nikolas says he’s leaving out a part of the story. It wasn’t all him. He had help, like with the burning of Ava’s car. He says, whatever Esme did, she did because he told her too. It was his idea; his agenda. Ava says, she doesn’t understand. The cockroach was last February, so he would have been in school in France. He says, the truth is, he returned to Port Charles long before he announced it to his family and friends. He stayed in short term rentals, and didn’t even use his real name. He told people that he was Victor. He lied to keep his plan going, which was to get Ava out of his father’s life forever. She says, that isn’t all he did. He used her little girl as part of his plan, and Spencer says he’d never hurt Avery, but Ava says she had no way of knowing that. He got in Windymere undetected, the same at the MetroCourt and the gallery. What’s worse, he knew Kiki was murdered. How could he make Ava fear for Avery’s safety? Spencer says he didn’t consider all the possible ramifications. He doesn’t blame her if she hates him. Nikolas says, and he did all of this so he could have Nikolas to himself? Spencer says he never knew his mother, and when Valentin shot Nikolas, he thought Nikolas was dead for three years, which made him an orphan. Then Ava went back on her word to testify against Valentin. He was angry and hurt and alone. Ava says what she doesn’t understand is why he didn’t stop. She was leaving. All his wishes were about to come true. So why this 11th hour confession?

Curtis tells Nina, duty calls, and tells Nika to make sure Nina gets whatever she wants. On the house. He goes over to Esme, and says, congratulations. She asks if she’s the thousandth customer, and drinks are on the house, but he says, nothing like that. Congratulations on the best fake ID he’s ever seen. She says she’s flattered he thinks she’s that young. Her secret: use a great French moisturizer. He says perhaps he’s wrong, but if it comes down to keeping his liquor license, or keeping her money, he’s going to keep his business. He’s going to keep her fake ID too. So here’s where he gets to ask her to leave. She says he can’t blame a girl for trying. The legal drinking age in France is eighteen. It’s so strange being treated like a child here. She leaves, and he goes back to sit with Nina. He says, the old fake ID. He supposes they all tried it once at that age. Now where were they? She says they were talking about what a mess she made of her life, but she’s been talking about it for days, and she’s all talked out. She thanks him for listening and being a good friend. Now it’s time she’s his friend.

Willow asks if Josslyn is sure there hasn’t been a mistake, and Josslyn says she’s always liked Nina. She was hoping Nina would get back together with her dad, but there’s no mistaking what Nina did. Michael says they spent months grieving their dad, thinking he was dead and they’d never be able to see him again. How could Nina ignore that? Then she had the audacity to show up at their house and play with Wiley like nothing was wrong? Willow says she knows Michael is upset – he has every right to be – but maybe this explains what was going on with Nina today. She’s probably afraid it was her last visit with Wiley. He says, there’s a simple way to avoid that. Tell dad’s wife and kids that he’s still alive and lost his memory. That’s the right thing to do. Willow says, of course (🍷) it is, but the situation is anything but simple. There’s the Nelle factor. His mom and Jax figured out that Nelle was Nina’s daughter and kept that a secret. Does he think that’s why Nina did it? Did she really risk everything to get back at Carly?

Sonny asks Carly, what else did Maxie say? and Carly says, Maxie didn’t go into Nina’s motives. She didn’t have to; it’s obvious. Nina blames her for what happened to Nelle. And Nina blames her for Michael and Willow not letting her see Wiley. She retaliated by letting them all believe Sonny was dead. It’s no mystery as to why Nina lied, but why did he let her hear the truth from Maxie? Why didn’t he tell her that Nina knew he was in Nixon falls all this time?

Dante wonders if that guy is Dallas Kirby, is the woman with him his informant, or his date. Sam says, could be both, and he says they’ve got to separate the two of them. She tells him to kiss her; just do it. He says, if that’s what it takes, and kisses her. She throws her drink in his face, and says, how dare you? 

Nina says, the last time she and Curtis spoke, he and Jordan were talking about divorce. Any chance they worked it out? He says she has missed a lot being out of town, and she asks what he means. He says, he and Jordan signed the papers, but before the ink dried, Jordan was injured in the line of duty. She says she’s so sorry; is Jordan okay? He says, eventually, but because she has one kidney, it’s going to make the recovery complicated. She left town to seek treatment from a specialist in Albany. Nina asks what the prognosis is, and he says, good overall. Jordan has made it clear to him that nothing’s changed, and she’s got it handled. She says, sounds like Jordan. What about him? Does it change things for him?

Nikolas says, there’s been a lot to process over the last few days. Sonny turned up alive after all this time when they thought he was dead. Then Sonny had the mistaken notion that they were leaving town, and taking Avery with them. Ava says he asked her to do that weeks ago and she refused. Where would he get the idea they were leaving with her? Nikolas says, apparently Esme told him. He thinks Spencer’s girlfriend likes to stir the pot. Spencer says, that’s not true. Esme only did what she thought he wanted, but when he saw that Uncle Sonny was going to have Nikolas beaten up by his bodyguards, he realized he might lose the one thing he wanted most, but now he’s lost Nikolas anyway. Nikolas says, all he can think about is how far Spencer was willing to go to terrorize Ava and keep them apart. Spencer says he knows there’s nothing he can say to excuse what he’d done. All he can say is that he’s truly sorry. He hopes they believe him. Ava says she believes he’s sorry. The question is, is he sorry for trying to destroy their happiness, or simply sorry his plan failed?

Michael says, when he thinks about how much he and Willow went to bat for Nina with mom, insisting it was in Wiley’s best interest to spend time with her… Outside on the phone, Esme says she doesn’t know whether to be annoyed or worried that Spencer’s not calling her back. The plans have changed. The Savoy is out, and Kelly’s is in. She’s waiting. She goes inside, and Josslyn says she was always nice to Nina. Nina was always sweet friendly… Esme comes to the table, and asks why they’re so serious. Who died? Josslyn says, fortunately, nobody, and Esme says, that’s right. Her stepdad turned up alive. She had the pleasure of meeting Spence’s uncle today. Mr. Corinthos is everything  they say he is, and then some. Michael tells Willow, they should get home to Wiley. If Nina’s still there… Esme says, Nina Reeves? Editor-in-chief of Crimson? Esme just ran into her at The Savoy. She was wearing the most amazing outfit… Michael and Willow leave while Esme is still talking, and she asks Josslyn if it’s something she said. Trina and Cameron join them, and Trina says, no. It’s something she did.

Carly says when Sonny came back, after he got his memory back, he never told her the name of the town, or that Nina knew he was there. Sonny says, after everything that happened, it didn’t seem that important, and she says, Nina lied to their faces; she kept them apart. He says, when he walked through the door, it was non-stop. He was focused on her and the kids, and getting his life back. He doesn’t even want to think about what happened in Nixon Falls when he didn’t know who he was. She says, nine months Nina stole from them. When she saw Nina today, she was remorseful for a minute. Then she was justifying her actions, blaming everything on Carly. Sonny says, wait. She talked to Nina?  

Dante wipes his face, and asks what’s wrong with Sam. She says, what’s wrong with him? He asked her here for a drink, then all of a sudden, he treats her like a pretty play thing. The woman from the nearby table comes over and asks if there’s a problem. Sam says, who wants to know? and the woman says her name’s Dallas Kirby. She’s the owner of the casino.

Curtis says, seeing Jordan in a hospital bed, all helpless, brought him back to when she was rushed into the hospital to have her kidney removed. He thought he was going to lose her. Nina asks if it made him reconsider things. She’s not lobbying for an outcome, just asking. He wishes it was that simple, but they had history that led them to signing those divorce papers. She asks, what about Portia? Have things progressed with her? He says he’s not sure. They were exploring… something, then the Jordan thing happened. He doesn’t even know. Maybe Portia is having second thoughts. She made it clear – and he doesn’t blame her – that she’s not interested in a rebound romance. Nina says, that could be it, or she could be waiting for the timing to be better. Nobody likes a rebound. Michael and Willow come in, and Willow says, it won’t do anyone any good if he makes a scene. He says, it won’t take long, and goes over to the table. He says he wants to hear Nina explain how she knew his father was alive for months, but didn’t find it necessary to tell his family.

Esme asks just what is it she’s supposed to have done? and Trina says, just what we thought you’d do. Cameron says, by we, Trina means herself. This was all her brilliant idea, and it worked. Sounds like Esme really stepped in it with both feet. Esme says, maybe Josslyn can translate what they’re saying, and Josslyn says she thinks Trina can speak for herself. Trina asks if the words Bora Bora mean ring any bells, and Esme says, that’s where Trina told her Nikolas and Ava were flying off to so they could be together. Cameron says, is that what she heard? and Josslyn says, that’s when Esme went up to her stepdad. Sonny Corinthos? Trina says, it wasn’t enough for Esme to repeat exactly what she heard. She added the juicy detail that they were taking Avery with them, knowing it would set Sonny off, and put the final nail in Ava’s marriage. It was a very sneaky plan, but she’s happy to say it didn’t work.

Spencer says he knows if he told Ava that he’s changed his mind, and thinks she’s a great fit for his father, no one would believe it, so he’s just going to be honest. He still hasn’t gotten over how Ava hurt his family by not testifying against Valentin. However, it’s a lot easier to hate her from overseas. When he got back and saw how badly she was hurting, he wanted to stop, but he couldn’t. He only hopes in time… She says, that will be for her to decide. If he’d only just targeted her, but he didn’t. He brought her little girl into it. He used her love for Avery to come between her and the father he claims to love. Nikolas says, he knows he has his share of blame in this too. He caused the dominos to start falling when he pretended to be dead. Spencer says, that’s how they show love in this screwed up family. They say they’re helping each other when they’re really hurting each other over and over. He convinced himself that this was for Nikolas, just like Nikolas convinced himself his actions were for Spencer. Can Nikolas see that? Can he understand that? Can Nikolas forgive him for just following tradition? Nikolas says he can’t forgive Spencer. Not after what he did to the woman Nikolas loves, and her daughter. He can’t have Spencer in his house or in his life. Get out – now.

Carly tells Sonny, yes, she saw Nina. She knew Nina would try to squeeze in a last visit with Wiley before all hell broke loose, and she was right. Nina was there, playing the doting grandmother, like she didn’t steal a year Wiley could have spent with his grandfather. Sonny is sure it wasn’t pleasant, and Carly says, it wasn’t. She gave Nina hell for what she did, but Nina got off easy. He asks her to define easy, and she says she was about to kill Nina when Jason showed up. He asks, how did Jason show up?

Dallas tells Dante and Sam, the casino isn’t her main focus; it’s more of a hobby. But she does take interest in her guests. What’s their game of choice; roulette, baccarat? She calls to Laurent, the man she was sitting with, and says she heard Dante and Sam arguing. Maybe a cooling off period would be good for them. She asks if she can buy Dante another drink… in the interest of keeping the peace. Laurent holds out his hand to Sam, and says, may I? she tells Dallas that Dante’s all hers, and walks off with Laurent. Dante says it looks like Dallas was right on time. He and his date were having a bit of a misunderstanding.

Curtis tells Michael, it’s not the time or place, but Michael ignores him, asking how Nina could show up at the house  and make a big show of how much she cares for her grandson. She’d been lying to all of them, making them believe their grandfather was dead. He gets that she hates his mom. She doesn’t deserve it, but she can defend herself. He thinks Wiley and Donna are too young to understand, but for him, Josslyn, Dante, and Kristina, it was pure hell. Avery is just a little girl, and Nina robbed her of almost a year with her father. Willow says, keeping Sonny away from his family all that time, she just can’t justify it. They start to leave, but Curtis says, hold on. They both had their say. Now he’s going to have his.

Esme says she’s the new girl in town. They claim to be Spencer’s friends. When Cameron told her that Ava and Nikolas were running away, it didn’t occur to her that he was lying. She assumed Ava wasn’t leaving without her daughter. The whole time the three of them were conspiring to set her up. Trina says, right, because they’re the ones who helped Spencer stalk Ava. Josslyn asks what happened when Sonny found Nikolas and Ava? and Trina says, Spencer showed up, and so did his conscience. He was finally tired of lying, and confessed everything. Esme says, he must have been out of his mind, when Spencer walks in. He says, no, he wasn’t out of his mind. He just told the truth. Trina asks what his father said, and Spencer says his father kicked him out and never wants to see him again.

Ava gives Nikolas a drink, and asks if he’s sure this is what he wants. He says she’s what he wants. He knows that. He almost lost her because of Spencer. She says, Spencer is a very hurt and angry young man, and he says, don’t tell him that she’s thinking of forgiving Spencer after everything he did to her. She says she just wishes there was another explanation than knowing it was his son all alone. Nikolas says, Spencer is dead to him, but she tells him, don’t ever say that.

Carly tells Sonny that Josslyn was with her when Maxie told her everything. She took off, and guesses Josslyn freaked out and called Jason, who had Spinelli track her phone. Sonny says he’s grateful Jason was there to take care of her. They talked a little in the cemetery. She asks what Jason said, and flashes back to telling Josslyn how excited she was to marry Jason. Sonny says, looking at a grave with your name on it is surreal. It also reminded him of how lucky he was to be able to come back to the woman he loves. She says she thought she’d lost him forever, and he says, forget the past. Let’s just concentrate on something else. She says, what? and he says, us. That’s all that matters. They hug.

Laurent asks if he can take Sam up to the terrace. The view is amazing. She says, sure. When in Monte Carlo… Dallas tells Dante that Sam is in good hands. Laurent has perfect manners and very old money. She hopes she’s in good hands too, and Dante says he doesn’t have old money, but his very Italian mother taught him some old school manners. He asks where the name Dallas came from, and she says, Austin was taken by Roger Howarth. She asks what brings him to her casino, and he says, she does. He just didn’t know Dallas Kirby was a beautiful woman. She asks why he was looking for her, and he says he had a bit of a score to settle with the owner there; he wasn’t a big fan. He found out there was a new owner, and wanted to see if it was an improvement. She definitely is. She says, flattery will get him everywhere, but she hopes he knows, Rudge is history, and he says, good. Maybe they can make some history of their own. She says, why don’t they move this conversation upstairs to her room? and he says she read his mind. After her. They leave, and Sam comes back just in time to see them go.

Curtis says, Nina knew Michael could cut Wiley out of her life, and Michael says, they agree on that much. Curtis asks if he’s thought about what’s best for Wiley. Have neither of them ever messed up? He knows he has; they all have. He’s not asking Michael to give Nina a pass, but he is asking for a second chance for her to make up for the hurt she’s caused, and  to make that little boy’s life better with having two grandmothers in his life. If all Michael wants to do is punish Nina, he needs to think about the fact that he’s in danger of punishing his son too.

Esme tells Spencer, she’s sure that’s not true. Once she explains everything… Trina asks if Esme hasn’t done enough of that, and Josslyn says, after everything she’s done? Spencer says, lay off of Esme. Everything she’s done, she’s done for him. He wanted Ava gone, and Esme tried to help him make that happen. Esme says, nice work, Joss. Thanks to Josslyn and her minions (a word Esme clearly doesn’t understand the definition of), Spencer has been banished from the castle. Josslyn says, that’s all Esme cares about, right? Esme says she cared enough to help Spence try to win his father back, and Josslyn asks how that worked out for her. They’re Spencer’s real friends, which is why they had to do something, before he dug himself into a deeper into the hole. Cameron asks why Esme didn’t do that, and Spencer says he can’t take this anymore. He walks out, and Trina follows, saying, wait. He tells her, go on, let him have it. He deserves every insult she can throw at him. She says he doesn’t get it. Yes, she’s furious, and he scared the hell out of her with the fake blood, but she doesn’t enjoy seeing him like this. Maybe Esme does. Maybe it makes Esme feel needed, but that’s not her. She wishes they could turn back the clock to when they met. If she’d known he was Spencer, not Victor, and knew what he was planning, maybe she could have talked him out of it before he hurt Ava and his dad. Before he hurt himself, more than anyone.

Ava says she understands Nikolas is angry at Spencer, and disappointed. He should be, but he’s lucky. Unlike hers, his child is still alive. With enough time, everything can be forgiven. He says he doesn’t want to talk about Spencer anymore; not after everything they’ve gone through on tonight. He suggests they talk about their new reality, and Ava says, like there was never an actual stalker, and they were never in danger. More important, Avery’s life was never in danger. He says they have no reason for a divorce, or for her to leave – ever.  

Carly says it feels good being in Sonny’s arms, as if the nightmare of the past nine months never happened. He says he missed her so much. He didn’t know how much. Does she hear that? She says, Avery and Donna are asleep, and Josslyn’s back at her dorm. She doesn’t hear anything. He says, exactly, and kisses her. He asks if he’s rushing it, but she says, no. They’ve lost too much time as it is. He kisses her some more. I hope he’s thinking about Nina.

Dallas asks what Dante drinks, and he says, scotch. She says, a man after her own heart. She saves this blend for special occasions, and thinks this is one. She pours both of them drinks, and hands him one. She says, to new friends, and he says he’ll drink to that.

Spencer wants to tell Trina something, but Cameron and Josslyn come out. Cameron asks if she’s ready to go, and, reading the room, Josslyn says, or they can go alone. Esme comes out, and goes to Spencer’s side. She says she’ll never underestimate Trina again, and Trina says, let’s go. The three of them leave, and Spencer says he doesn’t even know where to go from here. He wonders if his father is going to cut him off again, and if he’ll have to go crawling back to his grandmother. Esme says, don’t worry. No matter what happens, he has her. They can fix this. She hugs him, but neither one of them looks happy.

Nikolas shows Ava the copy of their divorce papers, and asks what he should do with it. She supposes they have to keep the fire going. They wouldn’t want the house to get cold. He says he likes the way she thinks, and throws it into the fireplace. She says, it’s warmer already, and we watch it burn. I assume they’re getting busy immediately.

Curtis says he’ll take Nina home, but she says he’s taken enough fire for her already. She can’t afford to lose the only friend she has left. She kisses his cheek, and leaves.

Willow tells Michael, what Nina did was cruel, maybe even criminal. But is it in Wiley’s best interest to try and cut her out of his life?  

Nina goes outside, and thinks about kissing Mike/Sonny.

Sonny leads Carly upstairs, and we see the photo of him, Carly, and Jason.

Tomorrow, Portia says surprise her, Dante says it would be in Dallas’s best interest to tell them what they want to know, Peter tells Victor that he’ll make it happen if Victor gets the key, and Drew says, welcome to hell.

Below Deck Mediterranean

Backtracking, in Mzi’s interview, he says, they’re about hit the groundlines and it’s his fault.

Captain Sandy says they need to hustle. The port dolphin is in front of her, and she’s going to hit it. Malia tells Mzi that he needs to hurry, and to throw the line the shortest distance. She tells David to hurry too, and in her interview, she says she’s at her wit’s end with how many mistakes are being made. They keep dropping the ball and making rookie mistakes. Courtney tells Katie that it’s effing hard with just the two of them, and Katie says, be careful what you wish for. The guests pack, and Katie asks Courtney to meet her in the main salon. The captain tells everyone, nice work, and asks Mathew if he’s looking forward to going out. Is he going to rumble? He laughs, and says, no rumbles, and she says, no ultimatums? He says, never again. Courtney meets Katie, and Courtney says, it’s very formal. Is she getting fired? Katie says, no. She’s been thinking about this for a while. She reaches into her pocket, and brings out an epaulet. She tells Courtney not to think she’s doing this right now to be nice. She honestly thinks Courtney deserves it. Courtney is always on it; Katie doesn’t even have to ask. Without Courtney, she’d be f***ed. Katie gives Courtney her stripes, and in Courtney’s interview, she says, holy sh*t. Katie is saying she actually knows how hard Courtney is trying. She tells Katie that she’s so happy, and goes to show Mathew. Mathew says, congratulations; I salute you, and tells her that she has more stripes than he’ll ever have. The guests’ luggage is taken out.

Malia says, it’s been a rough morning. She thinks Mzi is afraid of her right now. In Mzi’s interview, he says, actions have a ripple effect, and he knows he can do better. And he will. Guest Ben, who was flirting with Katie, gives her one of his hats, and in her interview, she says, it’s a nice gesture, but it feels wrong because he was flirting with her. It is a vibey hat though, and she’s here for it. Courtney shows Mzi her stripes, and in his interview, he says he feels glad for her, but everything is awkward because of the flowers. The crew gathers on the dock, and primary Anthony says Mathew’s food was nuts. Everything they offered was with a smile, and it felt genuine. He appreciates their attitude, and thanks them. He gives Captain Sandy the tip envelope, and the guests leave. The captain says, nice work. Now out of their whites, and into their reds for the tip meeting.

The captain says she allowed Katie the space not to bring in another stew, and Katie showed that she could do it. Well done. In Malia’s interview, she says, interior is busting their asses, but it’s the last charter. She doesn’t think they’ll get the work done without the deck crew. Everyone is exhausted, and making stupid mistakes. Captain Sandy compliments Courtney on her positive energy, and tells Mathew that not one client has complained. She’s blown away. The deck crew has to work it out. They were challenged by logistics, but could be more focused. They did take the beach picnic to the next level though. The tip is $15K or $1362 each. She tells the crew that they’ll be going to a winery, and they clean up.  

Malia thinks the deckhands’ mistakes are piggybacking on her own. She wants to be more on guard. She’s Captain Sandy’s disciple, and wants to be the best she can be. She wants to impress Captain Sandy, but also doesn’t want to be a sh*t bosun. Malia has a deckhand meeting, and asks if they noticed tension this morning. Do they know why? It’s an actual question. Mzi says, his f*ck ups? and David says, the anchor ball? Malia says, what all the mistakes have in common is that they’re rookie mistakes. She knows everyone is learning, but it gets under her skin. Mzi is green, but it’s time for him to tell himself that he shouldn’t be making mistakes. At this point, he should always know what to do next. If they see her hustling, she expects them to hustle too. She found David talking to Mathew when he should have been working, and he’s usually the guy she can count on to set an example. In David’s interview, he says, he took a step back because of his leg, and now he’s supposed to suddenly switch. Malia says their boss might not be as nice at their next job. She wants them to nail the next charter, and knows they can do better.  

It’s time for the preference sheet meeting, and Malia is excited. The captain says, the primaries are Ian and Crystal, who are celebrating their one year anniversary, and bringing along some friends. They’re all high-profile clients. Katie reads that on the first night, the primaries want to celebrate their anniversary, and on the next night, they want Captain Sandy to join them for dinner. They also want the crew to put on a talent show. In Katie’s interview, she says she has no hidden talents. She was a dancer growing up, but her talent is doing stewy things on big white floaty things. The guests have also requested a picnic off the boat. In Mathew’s interview, he says he’s excited that he has a perfect record; no guest complaints, except for Captain Sandy’s fish. She really just gave him feedback, but it’s still in his head. The captain says she knows they’re going to kill it. Afterwards, Malia says David seems upset and sad. She didn’t mean to come across the way she did; it’s just the end of the season. Katie goes to get the hat Ben gave her, and tells them that he left her a quote inside. She reads: How quickly I become jealous of the wind when it, and not I, gets the privilege of properly messing up your hair. In her interview, she wonders if it’s just a poetic way of saying he wants to f*** her. She puts it on, and Malia says, whatever works. Katie did what she had to do 

Lloyd says, last night, he was thinking about the season coming to an end, and wants to take advantage of it. The crew gets ready to go out, and heads to the taxis, this time, the girls in one and the guys in the other. Courtney says she wishes there was sexual chemistry with one of the guys, and Katie says she’s always wanted to have sex on the bridge. In the other taxi, the guys talk about their best pickup lines, but none of them is very good. Katie says she’s more into the guys in the engine room. They get to the winery, and take pictures. To go with the wine, the waiter brings a ton of grilled clams in the shell. Malia can’t believe it’s the last charter, and Mathew says they should all go somewhere and chill for a few days before they go home. In Katie’s interview, she thinks it would be really cool to get away from the environment of the boat. They’re a weird little mixed up family. Might as well spend a few more days together. They go inside, and through the building to another outside area where there’s a table set for them. Courtney gets excited, saying, it’s like a secret area.  

They sit down, and Malia asks if the deckhands understand why she has to be hard on them. She can’t always be their friend. If she didn’t have faith in Mzi, she wouldn’t have put him on in the morning. In her interview, she says Mzi still has a lot to learn, but he’s doing a great job. She wants to push him a little more, and wants him to gain confidence on deck. He won’t be coddled on the next boat. Courtney toasts, to Katie, the best boss bitch. She appreciates everyone’s help, and she’s so happy. She loves them. They all clink glasses, and Courtney says, good vibes all over. Malia says, even though Courtney is exhausted, she still lightens the mood. They toast, to Coco, and Mzi says he feels like he should apologize to Courtney. He feels like an idiot, but Courtney asks if he’s joking, and tells him to shut up. She appreciates him so much, and feels bad for joking. She hugs him, and in her interview, she says she hopes this helps get them back to where they were in their friendship. Mathew says this is his favorite night out. Lexi’s not there. Katie says she was waiting for that, and we flash back to one of Lexi’s tirades. Malia says Mathew was out of line too, but Katie says he didn’t take it to the next level. We flash back to Lexi telling Malia that she’s just a bosun, and to stand down. Malia says she and Lexi grew up in similar situations. Lexi grew up in a strict, religious household that she was trying to get away from. Maliah can identify, and says, they both still want love from their moms, but it’s not an excuse. Courtney tells Mzi that they just missed a full conversation about Lexi, and David wonders why they’re talking about Lexi; she’s gone. In Katie’s interview, she says, Mathew got his wish, and he’s lucky to be there. He isn’t authorized to speak badly about Lexi; he’s just as bad. Just drink your wine and eat your dinner. Katie says, everyone has a reason to feel the way they do, but Lexi is human and f***ed up. Courtney says, Lexi is sh*t, and Mathew says he’s still angry about her standing in his dirt pile. Courtney starts crying, and Mathew says, Coco is going through a rough time too. Malia says she doesn’t think Lexi is a terrible person, and Courtney weeps that everyone is having a rough time, but no one else is taking it out on other people. She and Lexi had shared a moment about their dads in a restaurant. We flashed back to that, and Courtney says, she knows everyone does things differently, no matter what they’re going through In her interview, she says, everyone is going through sh*t, and she’s dealing with her dad’s illness. She cries, and says, someone having Alzheimer’s is hard because you basically lose the person. Malia says Courtney was a champ. She never knew Courtney was going through things. She’s a legend, but some people don’t have that. David hugs Courtney, and Mathew says, stop calling Lexi a nice person; she’s the worst. Lloyd says, just because it’s yachting, doesn’t mean it’s allowed, and Katie says, with a normal job, you go to work from 8 to 5, and go home. Yachting will always be different. In Lloyd’s interview, he says he took the time and effort to change careers, but his experiences in yachting have made him wary about his next job, and if it will be a safe, understanding environment. David tells Mathew to take a moment to appreciate that Lexi is a human being and has feelings. In David’s interview, he says, in the worst case, Lexi will be in a dark place after this. He’s been there. In his head, he was convinced that if he took everything he had, he’d just go to sleep for a few weeks, but he woke up in the hospital and he was empty. It was a dark time. Even though Lexi wasn’t nice to him, she’s still a human being. David says, that’s all he’s got, and Mathew tells Courtney that he’ll always be there for her. In the taxi, Malia asks David, what’s wrong? and he says, everyone is tired, and it’s difficult. He’s spent four and a half years on boats. Malia says she’s harder on him because he works at a bosun’s pace. She doesn’t hold the others on the same pedestal. David gets less direction, and she expects more. David says he gets the point, but sometimes feels condescended and under-appreciated. Malia says she completely gets it, and appreciates him. Lloyd tells Mathew that he’s lucky to be there. His food is good, but he’s a bit of an ass. He’s lucky they put up with him. Mathew says he doesn’t care because he’s holding a bottle of tequila and two beers.   

Back at the boat, they drink some more, and David goes to bed. Everyone dances around, while Mathew, Courtney, and Mzi sit on a low wall near the dock. Mzi falls backward into the shrubs, but they’re all laughing so hard, he can barely get back up. He says he’s the drunkest human being on this planet. Everyone goes to bed.

Five hours before charter. Everyone tries to get it together, and Malia checks the route. Katie says, it’s going to be a sh*t show, and Malia says, it will be a lot with two people. The deck crew can help, but… Katie says, it’s not on them, and in Malia’s interview, she says, the last guests weren’t very demanding. If yachting has taught her anything, it’s that it won’t happen again. She thinks it’s going to be a hectic last trip. The crew gets everything ready, but Lloyd can’t find his radio. He hugs Courtney, who tells him not to be stressed. In his interview, he says he’s looking at the long game. It’s in his head now; wondering how he’ll find a new crew, and if it will be a nice job. He asks Malia about courses she thinks he should take, and she asks if he wants to stick with the deck, or get into engineering. He says he just wants to do a good job. The captain calls Malia to the bridge, and says, unfortunately, the wind is coming in early. They’ll have to take off earlier. She’s going to anchor off of Sibenik, and pick up the guests from there. In Katie’s interview, a producer asks if she has any regrets that she’s a stew down, but she says she doesn’t. She made the right decision in going with her gut, and did what needed to be done and what was best for the boat. The provisions arrive.  

Lloyd has trouble with the bow line, and starts breathing heavy. Anchor is dropped, and Malia tells Lloyd to slow down. In her interview, she says, something is off. Lloyd is making rookie mistakes that he almost never makes. She tells him that he didn’t call out the colors like he was supposed to, and needs to pick up his game. She doesn’t know what’s going on, but she needs the real Lloyd back. Lloyd gets sick and throws up in the water off of the swim platform. Malia asks, what’s going on? and he says he’s anxious, and feels tightness in his chest and stomach. She tells him to get off deck, and he goes to his cabin.  

Malia relays Lloyd’s symptoms to the captain, and says, it started this morning. She could tell something was up. Captain Sandy says she’ll take his blood pressure; there are heart problems in his family. Malia brings Lloyd to the bridge. He doesn’t look good, and the captain asks if it’s worse. He says he’s all right, and she tells him that he’ll be okay. He says he feels stupid, but she says, don’t. He gets sick again, and she says he needs to go to shore. She calls a water taxi, and tells the doctor that Lloyd’s blood pressure is high, he has chest pains, and he’s nauseous. She’s concerned. Lloyd leaves in the water taxi…

To be continued…

🤷🏽‍♀️ That’s All I’ve Got…

I’m cutting class early, but join me tomorrow, when I check in on those crazy, nearly forty-year-old kids, who used to work at SUR. And of course (🍷) the usual soap. Until then, stay safe, stay keeping your word, and stay remembering, just because you’re having a rough time, you don’t get to take it out on other people.

October 3, 2021 – Negan Teaches Maggie To Walk, Huh, Hope Makes a Choice & Stand

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

The Walking Dead

Maggie says they’re about three miles out, but Negan says Daryl told them to go home. Maggie says, Daryl knows she would never turn back, and Negan asks, with what army? He asks Gabriel to back him up, but Gabriel says his family is starving. Negan says, at least admit they’re walking to their deaths for a sack of beans, and Maggie says Negan has always been more interested in himself than helping the people back home. Go; she doesn’t need him. He says, they both know that’s not true. He wants her to make him a promise in front of the goddam priest that if he sticks around – if he does this for her – he won’t have to keep looking over his shoulder. She says they’ll never be even, and he says, then she’s down a soldier she desperately needs. It’s her call. She says he’d take a promise from her? and he says, yeah, who wouldn’t? Assuming she’s a woman of her word. He’s always been a man of his. He holds out his hand, and she barely shakes it, Gabriel tells them, listen, and they hear the traditional garbled noises of zombies headed their way. One comes closer, and Maggie stabs it in the head. She says, it was Elijah’s sister’s best friend; she was just a kid. They have to get them; all of them. More zombies come toward them.    

Stephanie and Eugene fight with some zombies in an empty building, and Eugene says Stephanie is doing great. She says she’s doing okay, not great. It’s not like riding a bicycle. He says it’s the cerebellum protecting her from unpleasant memories. He has to ask. She’s known Lance a long time… She says, pretty long, and he asks if Lance is capable of taking care of their transgressions. In other words, will their labor truly lead to their freedom? She tells Eugene, if Lance says it will, then it will. He has his own way doing things, but Eugene can trust him. He’ll see.

Ezekiel and Princess work together in another building. Ezekiel insists he’s fine, but Princess doesn’t think so. She tells him that they’ve got to get the space back, and need to clear the bodies. He starts dragging them out, but he’s having a hard time, and she asks if he’s okay. He says he’s fine, and she apologizes for snapping. He says, it’s cool, and starts coughing. She asks what she can do, and he says, it’s dusty. He’s sure that’s it. Eugene and Stephanie join them, and ask if they need help. Princess asks Stephanie, how much longer? and Stephane says she guesses a couple more. Princess says, Ezekiel isn’t going to make a few more days, but Ezekiel assures her that he’s fine. She says he needs to see a doctor, but he says he’s not leaving her to work alone. She tells him not to be stupid; they have real hospitals and sh*t here. She asks if Stephanie can make it happen, and Stephanie said she’ll talk to Lance right now. Eugene says they’re most obliged, but Ezekiel wonders if they’ll incur another debt. Princess says she’s not afraid of hard work, and a couple of guards come by with a young couple who look like Preppies from the 80s. The boy says they’re way too close to where the masses are working. The smell is revolting. Eugene says, who the hell was that?

A man tells Yumiko that the recruiters were impressed with her, and she says she thought they’d found her difficult. He says he expected someone with her pedigree to have high standards. She’ll have no trouble finding a position there. She says she’s happy to work for them, but she’s not staying there permanently, and wants to make that clear. He says, after meeting Ms. Milton, she might reconsider, but she says she’d rather see her friends. Can someone take her to where they’re working? He says, they broke the law, and Lance arranged for them to be released with a fine. They’re clearing the buildings. She says, of what? and he says, the dead. She says, they’ve been assigned to clear the buildings for days, weeks, months? And she’s expected to provide legal services for… He says, Ms. Milton and her cabinet, and she says she’d like to speak with Ms. Milton right away. He says, that would be difficult. Lance’s expectations of the timing were different. She asks if Lance is his supervisor? And he says, no. She says, then she’d like to speak to her right away.

We see a zombie tied to a tree, and Gabriel prays over a grave (we assume Elijah’s sister’s best friend). Maggie says if Elijah’s sister is out there, they’ll find her, and every last one of these murderers. Elijah says, but the one… is his. Maggie tells Gabriel, there are scouts everywhere. If he gets a chance to kill one of them, do it. If they’re alone, he has the advantage. Gabriel says, if he gets a chance to kill one, he will. He leaves, and Nathan asks if Maggie is ready. She says she’s not cutting up anyone she knows, and Negan says they just need two. He kept his mask for practical, sentimental reasons. She says, it’s not fun, and he says, not with that attitude. She tells him, let’s get this over with, and they walk, leaving the tree zombie snapping at the air.

Two soldiers return to the Commonwealth, and tell Pope, they’ve done three sweeps, but there’s no sign anywhere. Pope asks if they checked along the train tracks and the underpass. Come on. There are dozens of those a-holes out there, and their brothers are dead. They’re not ashamed? Leah says, they were following her recommendations. She told them where the team went, and where to go next. If he wants to scream at somebody, scream at her. Daryl watches, and Pope asks if she’s trying to be noble. Get them to like her? Try keeping them alive. She asks if yelling is going to help do that, and Pope tells her, take your boy out there, and find those goddam idiots. She tells Daryl, come on; we have orders. She leaves, and he follows her. Ever notice how no one goes, hang on, I have to go to the bathroom first? Like they would in real life?

Daryl and Leah walk, and he asks if she’s all right. She says she’s fine. He says he’s sure the guys are grateful, and she asks how he knows. He says, he’d be. She says she may have been stupid. Daryl has a good place. If he spends time with these people, she’s sure they have their side. Does he have something to say about it? He says he’s just surprised, and she asks, why? He says, they won. They have walls and food; why keep hunting? She says, they need to make sure they don’t come back. He says he doesn’t understand, and she says, it was easy for him on his own. He only had to worry about himself. They have a whole community to protect. They have structure and a leader, who got them this far. What happened back there isn’t normal. He says he’s met guys like that before, and she says, Pope has puzzles to solve; he’s riled up. How can their people be so hard to find? Daryl asks if Pope is just going to kill everybody, and go back to being a good guy, and she says Pope is like a father to her. He’s made her strong. He believed in her when no one else would, and it made her strong. Daryl says she doesn’t need anyone make her strong.

Maggie walks, wearing the mask, while Elijah watches, and Negan gives her instructions on how to walk. He unties the zombie, who walks up to her and keeps going. Maggie trips, and gasps. The zombie does an about-face, and she tries to get the mask off. It comes toward her, but Elijah gets it back to the tree. She says she hates this sh*t, but Negan says it’s not going to fit perfectly; it’s someone else’s face. This might actually work. If he can do it, she can do it. They’ll fix it, and try again. She did good.

Gabriel watches from the woods, as a guy in an old-fashioned cloak approaches a cemetery at the edge of the forest. He kneels for a moment, takes out a dagger, and gets back up. He  seems to sense Gabriel, and says, help me, father. You who guided me during the darkest of times. I treasure our conversation and the guidance you’ve given me. Is there anything I should know? He listens, and says, thank you, father. Gabriel has his sword ready, but the guy leaves.

Yumiko and Tomi walk into the terminal. She asks how long of a break he has, and he says, just long enough to show her his dorm room. She says she doesn’t understand why he wouldn’t want the life that comes with being a doctor there, and he says he doesn’t want to go back to how it was before. She liked that type of life; he didn’t. Everything moved too fast, and people burned themselves out working until they died or wanted to. He asks her to sit, and says, no one can know he was a doctor. Promise him. She asks what he means, and he tells her, trust him. He likes things the way they are. This place makes sense. She says, okay, fine and tells him that she has a meeting with Pamela Milton later. Is there anything she should know? He says it’s nice for her. Someone like him would never meet her. She asks, why not? and he says, they have to know their place. Some stormtroopers come out of nowhere and grab him, taking him away. He says he did nothing wrong, and Yumiko says she’s his lawyer. He’s entitled to his rights. We hear, the Commonwealth way, over the loudspeaker.

Maggie walks with a few zombies in the woods, as Negan watches. He says he told her that she’d get it right. Congrats and you’re welcome. She takes her mask off Elijah says, he’s changed, but Maggie says, they can’t believe that. He’s helpful, or would be if there’s something in it for him. Elijah says, so her promise? and she says she hopes she can keep it.

Yumiko tells Lance that she needs to talk to him. Where the hell is her brother? He says her brother is fine, and she says, that wasn’t her question. He says she has an appointment with Pamela Milton, even after he told her that he was taking care of things. He needs some time, and she says, for what? He says, it works like this. Her people need help. Her friends broke the law and she wants them free. Those are big asks, and he can deliver, but there needs to be something in it for him. She asks, what? and he says, a friend in a high place. Someday, he might need a favor and she might be favorably inclined. So what does she say to sitting tight a few more hours? She says, a few more hours, and he says, excellent. Lance continues smiling the way he does all the time, and she doesn’t like it.

Leah and Daryl walk. and he points to a cabin. She says, the patrol has been through; they’ve checked miles of trails. It should be cold. He says, it looks like someone’s been through here. They move closer to the house, and Daryl notices something. He says, come out with your hands up, and a guy steps out from behind a bush. He says, don’t shoot; his family needs him. Daryl tells him, stand over there, and Leah says, there are soldiers looking for people like him. How did he avoid them? He says, they don’t know what he’s been through. His wife is hurt, and he can’t care for her and look for food. Let him go. Daryl tells him to show them, or he’ll shoot the guy in front of his family later. The guy says, okay. Please don’t hurt them. Leah radios Pope, saying, they found a man in the woods… She’s not sure if he’s part of their target. He’s taking them to his people, and she’s not sure how Pope wants to engage… He tells her to kill them, and she says, copy that.

With a small bunch of zombies corralled in the woods. Negan and Maggie have something to eat. He says he feels for her in all this. She might think it’s bullsh*t, but it’s true. She says, how’s that? and he says, he’s not a robot. It sucks to see your friends as walkers, and that should be enough, but they’re about to do some crazy sh*t. She’s going to break into the community she built, and lost. He gets it. She says she and Negan lost their communities in different ways, but he asks if she thinks he doesn’t understand the losing side of a massacre. She says, there were no children or families at the Sanctuary, and he asks, where’d Aaron get his crazy from? Does she think he doesn’t know about that? She says, he can debate battle plans if he wants, and he tells her, all he’s saying is that he remembers his home was invaded, and people were killed. The men who were killed had friends, girlfriends, and people who felt a loss that he couldn’t heal. He had to explain why their leader failed to protect them. She says the people he killed had families, and he did it in front of their families, and he says he did, but the world is different now. There are fewer people to fight for, and fewer people to fight with. Hell, there are fewer things to fight over. She asks if he’s saying he’d do things differently if he could do them over, and he nods. He says, yeah. If he had it to do over, he’d have killed every single one of them. She asks why would he say that, and he says, it’s the truth. They’ve got to do what they can to protect their people. That’s why they’re here. That’s why they’re doing this. She asks why he’d say that to her? and he says they had a good day, her and him, and the only way this works is if they’re honest.

Eugene, Princess, and Stephanie pile up bodies, and Princess asks where they bring the dead. Stephanie doesn’t know exactly where, but says, somewhere far from the water supply. Ezekiel comes bouncing back with Lance, and tells Princess, much gratitude. They did the work, and he brought lollypops. He passes them out, and Princess asks if he doesn’t want one. He says he’s had several, and she asks how it was. He says he’s good as new. They gave him antibiotics, painkillers, and IV fluids. I’m thinking he’s had more than that, and wonder what’s in those lollypops. He thanks Lance, who says he was happy to do it. He’s just glad everyone’s okay. Do they feel up to a new assignment? Ezekiel says, bring it on, and Lance tells Eugene and Stephanie to clear out the north fence line; Stephanie can show Eugene where it is. He asks Ezekiel and Princess to come with him, and they follow him.  

Gabriel comes back, and tells Maggie, good news; they’re still there. Maggie asks if he ran into any of them, but he says, no.

The young entitled couple who’d passed by, are now making out in a lean-to by the edge of the forest. Eugene and Stephanie arrive just as a bunch of zombies come out of the woods. Eugene whacks zombies like never before, and Stephanie holds her own. Eugene says, teamwork, and he and Stephanie high-five. The boy asks what the hell that was about. Eugene and Stephanie disrupted their date. Eugene says he and Stephanie saved their lives, and the boy says they have private security for that. Stephanie says, let’s go, and the boy says, that’s the best idea they’ve had yet. Eugene says, there’s no reason to rude, hoss, and the boy says he’s not used to talking to plebians. Eugene says, someone used their dictionary. He and Stephanie have earned either gratitude or an apology. The boy asks who the hell they think they are, and Eugene tells him, hold his horses. The boy asks who Eugene thinks he’s talking to, and Eugene says, a tiny little man. While this is going on, a zombie has come out of the woods, and is almost on top of the girl. Stephanie whacks it down, and the blood spurts onto the girl, who squeals. The boy tells Stephanie, stupid bitch, look what you did to my girlfriend, and Eugene punches him in the face. Stephanie says, what did you do? and Eugene says, he was being an a-hole. Stephanie says she’s so sorry. They’ve been working without a break. Eugene didn’t mean to… Lance and Mercer appear, and Lance asks, what happened? The boy says, these lunatics attacked them. And where was Mercer? He had rotters up his ass, and this dumb sh*t rolled up and attacked them. Eugene says, that’s not the way it went, and Lance asks if it’s not true Eugene hit the boy? Eugene says he did, and Lance asks what he was thinking? Doesn’t Eugene know who this is? Let me just interject here. This obviously wasn’t in the employee citizen handbook, so what the hell? Isn’t that Lance’s fault?

Yumiko goes to Ms. Milton’s office, and the receptionist thanks her for being on time; Ms. Milton is fastidious about her schedule. She asks if Yumiko would like something to drink, but Yumiko says she’s all right. The receptionist asks her to have a seat, and Yumiko looks at a coffee table book about Italy. The receptionist says Yumiko is part of the new group who came in. Are they settling in okay? Yumiko says, yeah, but she hasn’t seen her friends in a few days. The receptionist says she’s sorry to hear that. Is everyone okay? The phone rings, and she says, of course. She’ll do it now. Yumiko asks if everything is okay, and the receptionist says, Ms. Milton will have to reschedule. Someone attacked her son.

Eugene sits in a cell, and Lance comes in. He says Eugene was supposed to save and protect the governor’s son. If he’d done that, he’d have been a hero. He could have asked for anything. Eugene and his friends want out, but now the price is higher. He needs the name of Eugene’s town and how to get there. Eugene says he’s been on his own, and Lance says, then welcome. This is home. He and his friends can keep killing walkers, and his people – whoever they are – can figure things out on their own. Eugene says, if he were to disclose the coordinates, what guarantee can Lance provide that his community will be safe? Lance says, look around him. Think of how they’ve been treated, all the chances they’ve gotten. Eugene says, that’s not a direct reply to his query, and Lance says, it’s up to him. Lance starts to leave, and Eugene says, wait. I say, dammit.

Maggie practices walking in the field with a small group of zombies, along with Negan. She and Negan split off, and go over to a building. They take the boards off a door, and open it. Zombies stream outside, and I wonder who was saving them up in there. Everyone wanders around a parking lot.

A storm begins, and the guy leads Daryl and Leah to a house. He moves some vent hoses aside in the basement, and reveals an entryway. He goes in, and a wounded woman sits on the floor with a little boy. He says he told them the truth. Please don’t hurt them. Leah tells him to take his son and run. Don’t come back. The woman tells the boy to go ahead with his father, and don’t be afraid. The guy cries and says he loves her. She says she loves him too. No one cares since we don’t know them. They leave, and the woman says they’re the answer to her prayers. He was never going to leave while she was alive, but it’s dangerous to stay. She’s ready. Please. Leah actually looks like she has an emotion, and the woman closes her eyes. Leah aims her gun, but can’t do it, wiping her tears away. Daryl shoots the woman, and asks if Leah is going to tell Pope. She says, that Daryl killed her? It will look good for him. Daryl retrieves his arrow from the woman’s forehead, and covers her face. He says there’s something he needs to tell Leah, but the radio crackles. Pope tells them to come back, and she says they’ve got to go.  

Maggie, Negan, and Elijah walk with a whole lot of zombies. Maggie sees Elijah’s sister among the dead, and it freaks her out a little. She surreptitiously takes Elijah’s hand, and they continue to walk, tons of zombies now behind them. They head toward Hilltop.

Next time, zombies attack Meridian and Alexandria; Pope says, the end is close, and they will not escape this time; and Virgil talks to Judith about Michonne.   

🔦 News flash: Walking Dead has an official whiskey.

The Walking Dead: The World Beyond

We flashed back to the Republic blowing up the Campus Colony. Elizabeth told Hope that she would be reunited with her father, so Hope got on a helicopter with Elizabeth and Huck. Instead, Elizabeth said, change of plan, and they landed on a rooftop in Albany. Hope asked if Elizabeth had lied about taking her to her father, and Elizabeth said, not yet. She told hope they were heading into new world, where clusters of the dead were roaming around the continent, and as far as they could tell, the world. There were columns of them so big, they’d run right over whole cities. Elizabeth then gave Hope a bullsh*t story about how one giant horde was headed for Omaha, and another to the Campus Colony, and they mashed together. They’d tried to rescue ask many as they could, airlifting out those still alive, but the Colony was gone. Elizabeth brought Hope to Albany because it had been her home. She’d been working in military defense, and realized how quickly any chance for a future could crumble. She asked if Hope still believed a future was possible, and Hope said, she does, she did, she should. Elizabeth said that despite the fallen cities, she was trying to get Hope to think more positively. That’s why she pushed Hope to go on this journey; to see how fragile civilization was. It took everyone coming together to give it a shot. Hope’s father was a genius, and valuable to their research, but he was also a troublemaker. They couldn’t risk bringing in someone who could jeopardize the community. She asked if Hope wanted to work with them. She couldn’t bring Hope in to join her father unless she knew that, despite Hope’s grief and anger, she was committed in being an asset to the future; committed to a life where she’ll consume knowledge to hand to the next generations. Hope needed more time to think, and Elizabeth told her to think about what she truly wanted. She gave Hope a radio, and said she’d need Hope’s answer by dawn. She thought Hope had every reason to walk away, given the extent she and her friends had been manipulated, but she’d be taking her chances alone on her own, and wouldn’t make it out of the city alive. Life was a gift, and Hope could choose to waste it alone or fight for a future with for others, making sure it never happened again. The choice was hers. Hope left, and Huck asked if Elizabeth was really doing this when Hope could die. Elizabeth said, or Hope could join them, but she needed Hope to choose.    

Will told Felix and Iris how he escaped CRM, who wanted him dead, and he would be if they found him. He told the two of them to a place called The Perimeter, where he’d been taken in. It had been an abandoned farm, and before everything fell apart, it was an artists colony. He introduced them to Indira, the head of the council. She told them that she was sorry about their home, but since Will was vouching for the, they had a home there until a more permanent solution presented itself. They could keep their knives, but were she asked that they surrender all other weapons. The council will ask them some questions, but she wants Felix’s leg looked at first. She asks what they have to live for. Living took effort. It took everything, and she needed to know their reasons if they were staying. Felix said, these two, indicating Will and Iris, and a few others. Iris guessed she lived for Hope, and Indira said the world was nothing without hope.

Will and Felix got reacquainted, and Felix had a good cry. Will explained that Indira was risking everything harboring them, and cautioned Felix and Iris against trying to rescue Hope just yet. This was about the long game. Not just how to keep them all safe, but what would happen afterward. One wrong move, and it was over for all of them.

Hope went into a school, and while she was exploring, it didn’t take long for her to run into a zombie and end up rolling down a flight of stairs with it. She managed to kill it for real, but got a nasty head wound bouncing off the wall. Zombies came at her, but she fought them all off. Then she thought she saw Elizabeth, and flashed back to Elizabeth telling her to think about what she truly wants. After killing the last zombie, she saw a poster for a missing woman named Candace Froder. She looked down the hallway to see a hooded figure, and said, hello? 

In the meantime, Elizabeth asked if Huck was thinking about going after Hope. Huck had insisted that Hope was worth the risk of this trip, and that it was the only way to change her. Huck said it had, and Elizabeth said, not enough, but it could still be a win. Elizabeth said she’d only wanted the best for Huck. Hope reminded her of Huck at the same age. She was lost and angry. Elizabeth thought Huck needed Hope to look up to her.

Hope flashed back shooting Elton’s mother.

Elizabeth told Huck that it was easy to form an attachment after being on assignment for an extended period. She wouldn’t stop going after Silas, but after he’d been captured, he was stonewalling. She was still focused on finding the others, but if they continued to be focused on finding Hope’s dad, they’d need to be dealt with. She asked how much Felix and Iris knew, but Huck didn’t say.

Hope ran to another building, trying the doors. After getting inside, and thinking she was alone, she opened a curtain, and someone jumped out, scaring her, me, and probably whoever else was watching. It was the hooded figure Hope had seen, who turned out to be the missing Candace. She fought with Hope, and Hope asked why she was doing this. Candace said she wanted what Hope had. Her group had helicopters, clothes, and food, and whatever they didn’t have, they took. Hope realized it was the same woman from the poster, and said she didn’t want to hurt Candace; she just wanted to go. Candace asked, go where? You didn’t just die. Someone else got your clothes, food, and supplies. What was Hope doing there? Hope said she was just trying to make it. Candace attacked Hope, who pushed her away, into the waiting arms of some zombies who have managed to get their arms, and mouths, outside of a barred gate. Hope sat on the floor, rocking back and forth, and when she opened her eyes, poof! They were gone, and it was all a hallucination. She remembered better times with her dad, and cried. She looked inside a book, and saw one of his secret messages to her. Once again, she recalled Elizabeth asking what she truly wanted.    

Hope called Elizabeth to come back for her, and Elizabeth said she was happy to hear from Hope. Hope said Elizabeth was right. She wasn’t going to make it alone, but she didn’t want this be all there was. She didn’t know if that’s what Elizabeth wanted to hear, but it was the truth. Did she pass? Could she see her dad? Elizabeth said it was okay to hate them; she should. But the bad things they did must be done. They carried the burden so others didn’t have to, so there would be good in the world. Maybe one day, this might not be all there is, but it would be if they didn’t have a world to go back to. She imagined Hope understood that differently now. Huck wondered if Elizabeth had wanted to see if she’d go after Hope, but Hope and the others had changed her. Elizabeth said she was glad she was wrong.  

Huck told Hope that she thought she knew what they could do about Silas. She’d found a settlement, but told her mother that she hadn’t found anything. It guaranteed all of their safety if they had to run. Hope wasn’t having it, and said Huck was just covering her own ass. How about if she told Huck’s mother how badly Huck had screwed up her mission? Since Huck screwed up her life, she’d do the same to Huck. Huck said the only way to stay safe was to lie to her mother. The place was safe, as long as they played by the rules, and didn’t screw sh*t up. Hope said there was no way she was working with Huck.

Iris wondered why the cover-up didn’t make sense, and Felix agreed. The only reason they weren’t dead was because they left. They’d taken a risk. Maybe that’s how they had to keep living. Do what they needed to do, no matter the risk. The council was letting them stay there, and the rules were different. They’d have to change how they played. Iris pondered zombie hordes, then went out sneaking around with a bow and arrow. She saw a CRM guard poking around.  

Hope was led down a long hall like she was going to prison, but she was taken to her father. She hugged him and cried.

A zombie came out of the woods, distracting the guard, and Iris shot the guard. She fought with him, finally knocking him down. She stabbed him, and removed his mask, revealing he was practically a kid, but there was no remorse. She said, it wasn’t the zombies; it was him.    

Kind of a filler episode, eh?

Next time, Elizabeth captures an enemy. Hope’s dad tells her that he’s working to stop the zombies, and Iris says, this is war.

🌬 Gone Like the Wind…

It’s late, but join me tomorrow on Deck and for some soap. In the meantime, stay safe, stay building your character, and stay having a good attitude, even if you have to wear someone else’s face.

October 1, 2021 – Spencer Tells the Truth (Almost), Suzanne Wants To Sell, Esme’s Secrets, Wiley In Paris, Another Goodbye, the Cassadines, Comedic Move, Two Exits, Explosive, Who’s There, Making Up, Quotes Of Ten & Serenade

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Nikolas asks Sonny, what the hell is this? Sonny barges into his house, and tries to intimidate him with his goons? Sonny says, Nikolas’s problem is his sense of entitlement. He thinks he can take anything any time he wants. Nikolas says he doesn’t have any idea what Sonny is talking about, and Sonny says Nikolas is lucky he didn’t come home a day later, because he wouldn’t have stopped until Nikolas was dead.

Outside Windymere, Spencer asks, what’s up? Was the text from Josslyn? Cameron says, yeah, and Spencer asks if there’s something going on. Trina shows him the phone, and says, you tell me. He sees a shot of Esme talking to Sonny.

Jax asks how much Nina told Carly about her life in Nixon falls, and Carly says, enough to confirm that Sonny was alive and well the whole time, and Nina didn’t tell her or Sonny’s family. Why, is there more? What else is Nina keeping from her? What could be worse than keeping her husband from her?

Maxie sits with Nina at Kelly’s, and thanks her for finally answering a text. She must have sent a gazillion of them. Nina says, twenty-two. She’s sorry. She silenced her phone because she didn’t want any interruptions. She was with Wiley, and her time with him is beyond precious right now. Maxie takes it Carly found her, and Nina says, that she did. And if Carly has her way – which she always does – Nina will never see her grandson again.

Scotty finds Austin sitting in front of Kelly’s, and says, he’s outside? Austin says the crisp night air makes him feel alive. Sonny sits, and says, city folk don’t understand you country folk because they have the sense God gave a goose. When it’s cold, they go inside. Austin tells him, says the man who fell to earth. How’s he feeling? Scotty says, he’s indestructible, and Austin says, glad to hear it. And he’s glad Scotty called. He has news about the lawsuit contesting Edward’s will? Scotty says he knew the Quartermaine lawyers were going to pull one pre-trial, so he swatted them like horseflies. Austin is on the docket. In two weeks, he’ll be in court. Austin says he’ll prove that it was Edward’s intent to include him in the will, and Scotty says, they tried to block the letter being put into evidence, but they failed. Edward died before Jimmy Lee Holt was put into the will, so they have to prove it was Edward’s intent. Austin says, his father will finally be recognized as a Quartermaine, and Scotty says, if they win, Austin will get his proper ELQ shares. But they are dealing with the Quartermaines, so before they start doing a jig, know with them, always expect the unexpected.

On the phone, Ned tells Candace, there’s always more they can do. So he suggests she, and their overpriced legal team, pull an all-nighter, and come up with at least five more strategies. He’ll look forward to hearing them all tomorrow morning. Goodnight. Brook comes out, and he says he’s happy to be home. She says he may not feel like that when she’s through with him.

Ava tells Ryan, no reply? His victory speaks for itself? Although she supposes it’s a rather hollow victory, isn’t it? He might have blown up her marriage, but she can go anywhere she wants to in the world. He can’t even get out of that chair.

Nikolas pushes one of Sonny’s thugs, and says they’re all trespassing on his property, and he wants them out now. Sonny says, with everything going on in his life, he doesn’t need this right now, but he’s not leaving until they have an understanding.

Jax says Carly is right. Nina keeping Sonny from her is inexcusable, and that’s all that needs to be said about it. She says he dodged a bullet. Be grateful, because Nina would destroy his life. Josslyn walks in, and asks if Jason found Carly. Carly hugs her, and says she’s so sorry she worried Josslyn. Josslyn says she wasn’t worried. She feels bad about meddling, but Carly always says Jason is the best at making her think things through. Carly says, he is, and she’s glad Josslyn felt she could reach out to him. Josslyn asks if Carly told Jax about Nina, and how she knew Sonny’s been alive for months. He says he was pretty surprised when he found out, and Josslyn says she knows he cared about Nina, but lying to everyone all those months, leaving them there thinking Sonny was dead when he wasn’t, she doesn’t even understand how Nina is capable of doing something like that. This woman gave her a graduation present. He says, sometimes unhappy people do desperate things, and she says, okay. She tells Carly that she hopes she didn’t make a mistake, bringing Maxie over and dumping it all on her after everything else. She’s sure Carly’s head is spinning. Carly says she’s grateful; Josslyn did the right thing. She prefers to know the truth. Josslyn says she just wishes Sonny had come back a day earlier, before the wedding, and Carly says, her too. Josslyn asks if Carly and Jax are fighting again.

Maxie tells Nina, she’s so sorry. She tried to avoid telling Carly, but Josslyn could tell she was holding something back. Nina says she understands. Maxie was under a lot of pressure, and Josslyn’s a lot like her mother in that respect. She won’t take no for an answer. Maxie says, she won’t, and once Josslyn set things in motion, she realized if she was Carly, she’d want to know, and she didn’t really have the right not to tell her. Nina says, it’s fine. She knew it was only a matter of time before Carly found out. Maxie says she didn’t tell Carly everything. She didn’t even mention a hint of romance between Nina and Sonny. Nina says she doesn’t think Carly knows. She was already breathing fire when she yelled at Nina, and Nina wasn’t going to fill her in on the details. She thinks it’s Sonny’s job to tell Carly what happened between them. Maxie asks why Nina thinks Sonny hasn’t mentioned it to Carly already?

Brook says, start talking, and Ned says he can’t think of anything he’s done to upset her. She says, not her; Olivia. She’s noticed an uptick in slamming doors lately. What did he do? He asks why she assumes he’s to blame. Isn’t she supposed to be on his side? She says she is. Consider this a little tough love. She doesn’t want him to be a jerk to Olivia and lose her again. She thought they were doing better, and on the road to reconciliation. He says, so did he, but after Leo ran off in the hospital and Austin found him, things have changed. She asks, how? and he says he only brings this up because a child’s life could be affected. Austin said… She says, who cares what Austin said? She knew this guy would cause trouble.

Ava tells Ryan, as stimulating as this conversation is, she really has to go. Good luck with that whole blinking in morse code thing. He blinks, and she says she’s so glad he’s alive. She used to wish he was dead, but this is so much better. She squeezes his ear, and says, goodbye, Ryan. As she’s leaving, Esme walks in, and Ava asks what she’s doing there.

Spencer tells Trina, so what? It’s a photo of Esme talking to his Uncle Sonny. Trina says, scroll down, and Cameron says, Josslyn said Esme spoke to Sonny for a bit, and when he left afterwards, he wasn’t happy. Trina says, now here he is… Cameron says, looking for Spencer’s dad with two scary dudes.

Nikolas asks why Sonny is in his house issuing threats, and Sonny says, it’s not a threat, it’s a promise. Nikolas and Ava aren’t taking Avery from him, and if they try, they’ll pay. Nikolas says, maybe whatever happened to Sonny while he was away, is having an effect, but he’s not making any sense. Sonny says it doesn’t matter where he was or what happened to him. He’s glad he got there in time to hear about Nikolas’s plans to run  off with Ava and Avery. Nikolas says, that was months ago. Ava refused to leave. Why is Sonny bringing it up now? Sonny says he heard about the plane tickets from Spencer’s girlfriend, and Nikolas says, Esme told Sonny about this? She must have gotten something wrong. Nikolas turns to leave, but the thugs block his path. Sonny says Nikolas has it all wrong. Running away is a pattern with him. Always has been. But let Sonny tell him something, he and Ava aren’t taking Avery from him. She stays there, and he’s going to make sure of it. He nods to his thugs, and they grab Nikolas.

Austin says he’s confused. Scotty just told him the letter was entered into evidence. The Quartermaines set up a bunch of roadblocks, but Scotty ploughed right through them. What’s the worst they can do? It’s up to the court at this point, no? Scotty says, the Quartermaines have a lot of influence in this town and they like to throw that weight around to get what they want. Austin says he doesn’t know about that. He’s spent time with both Michael and Ned, and found them to be reasonable men. Scotty says, reasonable? and Austin says, Michael handed over the letter; don’t forget about that. He has every confidence that both Michael and Ned are going to come around in the end. Scotty says he doesn’t mean to rain on Austin’s parade, but he’s dealt with the Quartermaines for a long, long time. They’re a tricky bunch. They’re very stubborn and very devious, and they learned that from old Edward himself. Austin says he can be stubborn too, and he can be very convincing when he’s right. In fact, the other day he had a conversation with Ned, and thinks he got through to him.

Ned tells Brook, this isn’t about Austin; it’s about Leo. She asks what Austin has to do with Leo, and Ned says, that’s what he’s trying to tell her. She says, fine, proceed, and he says, Austin noticed some of Leo’s behaviors and spoke to him about them. As a medical professional, he was concerned, and thought Leo could benefit from seeing a specialist. She says, for what? and he says, to see if Leo is on the autism spectrum.

Esme says she didn’t expect to see Ava there, and Ava says, likewise. Esme tells Ava that she was hoping to speak to someone about possibly interning there. Ava says, at Spring Ridge? and Esme says she’s very interested in psychology. She and Spence are auditing some classes at PCU, and she thought some real world experience would be good. Ava says Esme would certainly be diving into the deep end, and Esme says, it is a prison, but it’s minimum security, and there are some unusual cases here. Ava looks at Ryan, and says she hopes Esme doesn’t mean Ryan Chamberlain. Esme says, that’s right. Ryan was Ava’s fiancé, and Ava says, Esme needs to stay far away from him, but Esme says, her understanding is that he’s locked in. He can only blink. Ava says, so Esme knows about his condition, and Esme says, everyone does. It’s very fascinating, and he’s hardly a threat. Ava says, Ryan Chamberlain is always a threat. As long as he can communicate, even by blinking, he can mess with your head. Esme says she had no idea, and Ava says, she does now. Consider herself warned. Esme flashes back to Cameron telling her and Spencer that Nikolas booked two first-class tickets to Bora Bora, and Ava says she has to go. Esme tells Ava that she’s happy for her, and Ava asks, why? Esme says she hears Bora Bora is beautiful, and Ava says she guesses technically, she’s going to an island, but not Bora Bora. Why would Esme think she was going there?

Nina tells Maxie that Sonny made it very clear he didn’t owe her an explanation. That his loyalty and priority are with his family. Maxie says, Nina saw Sonny? She thought they’d agreed Nina was going to let Sonny settle back in with Carly and his family, and wait for the dust to clear. Nina says they did agree, and she’d intended to do that, but she went to the cemetery to see Jay (Nathan), and she ran into Sonny looking at his gravesite. Maxie asks, how’d that go? and Nina tells her, Sonny said Mike didn’t exist, so what they had wasn’t real. Maxie says, Sonny is going to go back to his old life, and Nina says her head understands that, but her heart is confused. It’s just painful. Maxie says, Nina is probably not the only one who’s confused. Sonny can’t pretend that his time with Nina wasn’t real. He has to care for her on some level. That’s probably why he didn’t tell Carly about the two of them. Sonny might not want to admit it, but he’s protecting Nina.

Nikolas says Sonny is making a mistake, and Spencer runs in, telling the thugs to let his father go. He tells Sonny, stop this, but Sonny says, it doesn’t concern Spencer. Spencer says, of course (🍷) it concerns him. Nikolas is his father. What’s going on here? Nikolas says, Sonny is not in his right mind. Sonny thinks he and Ava are running away with Avery. Spencer says, Sonny is mistaken. Father and Ava are leaving; they’re not taking Avery. Sonny says, that’s funny, because Nikolas claimed he wasn’t leaving. Nikolas says he’s not. He has no idea where any of this is coming from. Sonny says, stop lying; let’s go. Spencer tells him, wait, and Sonny says he and Nikolas are just going to have a little conversation. Spencer tells Nikolas, just show him the tickets, and Sonny will see Avery isn’t going with them. Nikolas says, there are no tickets, and Spencer says, Cam said… Cameron and Trina walk in, and Cameron says he lied. Trina says, they’re so sorry.  

Josslyn says she knows Jax and Sonny have never really gotten along, but they’re happy that Sonny is alive and well. Jax says, he’s happy Sonny is alive too. Carly tells Josslyn that she and Jax will always be there for her, no matter what’s going on. Josslyn says she’s been hearing that her whole life, but she’s old enough to realize when there’s tension between the two of them, and like it or not, it affects her. Jax says she’s right. He and her mother were discussing Sonny. Josslyn says, discussing Sonny how? and Jax says, when he suspected Sonny might be in Nixon Falls, he went himself to check it out. That’s when he confronted Nina, and she confessed everything. Then Sonny was in that fire, and got his memory back, and he offered Sonny his jet to take him home. Josslyn thanks him, but asks. why is there tension over that? Jax says, because her mother feels that if he’d told her about his hunch that Sonny was alive, she would have postponed the wedding to Jason, right? Carly says, and she’s trying to understand why Josslyn’s father kept his hunch to himself, right? Josslyn asks if it isn’t better that this is all out in the open. 

Nina tells Maxie, Sonny hasn’t told Carly because he hasn’t had a chance, since he’s busy reconnecting with her and his family. If he’s protecting anyone, he’s protecting Carly. He knows her anger, and probably doesn’t want it getting the best of her. Austin comes in, and tells Maxie, hello again, and Maxie introduces Nina. She tells Nina that Austin is the doctor who helped deliver Louise. Austin says, it’s an honor, and Nina says it’s an honor to meet him, and thanks him for helping her beautiful sister-in-law and her baby. He says, it was his pleasure. He just wishes he could have done more to keep them safe. Nina says he kept them alive, and she’ll forever be grateful he was there that night. He says, him too. Her sister-in-law is kind of a superhero. She gave birth, then minutes later was running through the woods, baby in arms. She’s feisty. Nina tells Maxie that she’s feisty, and Maxie says he’s only saying that because she yelled at him. She was in pain, and he called her ma’am. He says he’s truly sorry for that, but he’s learned his lesson, and it won’t happen again.

Brook says, Austin claims Leo is autistic? but Ned says, Austin was careful not to offer a diagnosis. That’s what the specialist would do. She says, that’s the specialist’s job, not Austin’s. He’s not even Leo’s doctor. Obviously, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Has Leo’s pediatrician said anything? Ned says, no, and she says, and Ned went to Olivia with this nonsense? That’s why they’re on the outs. He says, it’s not nonsense. He’s done a little research on his own, and he’s still learning the correct terminology, but he thinks Leo is exhibiting some signs. She says, like what? and he asks if she’s ever noticed how hard it is to get Leo’s attention, especially when he’s focused on a toy. She says, so the kid has a good attention span. That’s a reason to worry? He says, Leo rarely makes eye contact, and she says, he’s shy. He tells her, that’s what Olivia says, but what if they’re missing something? What if Leo sees the world differently than they do? Shouldn’t they know that, and give him what he needs? She says, what Leo needs is for him to stop falling for Austin’s mind games.

Sonny says, somebody has to start talking, and Cameron says, there were no tickets. Trina starts talking at the same time, and then Spencer. Trina says, it was for Spencer’s own good. Sonny tells them, take a breath, start again. Trina says, Cam, Joss, and her… Sonny says, Josslyn was in on this? and Trina says, they told Spencer and Esme that Ava asked her to get tickets to Bora Bora, so they’d think Nikolas and Ava ran away together. But they never said Avery was going with them; Esme made that up. Sonny asks, aren’t they too old for pranks? and Cameron says, this wasn’t a prank. They were trying to prove Spencer and Esme were behind Ava’s stalking. Nikolas says, they went down that road. Spencer couldn’t have been Ava’s stalker. They were at the party. Sonny says he’s disappointed in the both of them, and Josslyn as well. Uh-oh, it’s bad when your dad is disappointed. Nikolas says they both owe Spencer and all of them an apology. He’ll be speaking to their parents about this. D’oh! The one thing worse than dad being disappointed. Nikolas says he’ll also take an apology from Sonny. Or if Sonny’s not man enough, get the hell out of his house. Sonny tells him not to press his luck, but Nikolas says, it’s not luck. Sonny was wrong. Spencer says, that’s enough. He’s the one who owes everyone an apology. They were right. He did it.

Brook asks if it ever occurred to Ned that Austin might be trying to split his focus; cause a rift in the family. Think about it. If he’s busy worrying about Leo, he’ll drop the ball on Austin’s case. Ned says he’s not dropping anything. He’s navigated takeovers and tricky mergers under far worse conditions. She says, like Michael navigated a takeover while he was busy fighting for custody of Wiley. Oh wait. He didn’t. That was Ned who was in charge when Valentin became CEO. Ned says, Austin is no Valentin Cassadine. He may be trying to sneak in the back door, but he’s not using Leo to do it. Is he concerned about Leo? Yes. Is Leo a priority? Yes, but he’s handling this lawsuit. She asks how it’s going, and he says he just spoke to their head attorney Candace, and they have a court date. She says, wow. So Austin is actually making progress, and he says, nothing is a done deal, but this court battle is a totally separate thing from Leo’s health. She asks if he’s sure about that. Austin doesn’t seem to be. He tells her, be honest. They’ve all seen how Leo is completely antisocial. He doesn’t really have any friends. He prefers to be by himself. She says, so do a lot of kids, that doesn’t mean he has autism. Ned agrees, but says, it can’t hurt to have Leo checked out. He doesn’t think Austin is making things up. She says, no, he’s just distorting what he observed over a whopping twenty minutes with Leo, to frighten, scare, and distract Ned. Austin doesn’t care about Leo. He only cares about number one.

Nina tells Maxie that she needs to get going; it’s been a long day. She thanks Maxie for the conversation, and Maxie asks if Nina is sure she doesn’t want to talk more. Nina says she doesn’t, but how about if she calls Maxie in the morning? She really wants to see James. She tells Austin, nice meeting him, and he says, likewise. Scotty is outside, and when Nina comes out, he says, look who’s back in town. He asks why she got her aunt involved with Peter. Peter was blackmailing her? Now Liesl is God knows where, he was gassed and chucked out of a plane like a sack of potatoes. Nina says she just asked Obrecht for help. The plan was her idea. Scotty says, it may have been, but Peter found out, and now Obrecht is in danger. Nina says, she keeps telling herself that her aunt is more than capable of taking care of herself, but Scotty says, he’s in charge now. He’s going to find her.

Austin asks if Maxie minds if he joins her. Her ex might be lurking out there somewhere, and she might not want to be alone. She says she doesn’t want to take advantage of his chivalry under false pretenses, so he should know there are two plainclothes cops outside, keeping an eye out for Peter. But just because she doesn’t need him to guard her, doesn’t mean she wouldn’t enjoy his company. He sits.

Esme tells Ava that she’s sorry. Trina wasn’t supposed to say anything, was she? She gets it. Ava and Nikolas want to keep it secret. Ava doesn’t have to worry about her; she’s practically family. Ava says she doesn’t have the slightest idea what Esme is talking about. Esme says, Ava leaving town…? and Ava says, what about it? Esme says she probably got it wrong. She can be ditsy sometimes. Forget she said anything. Ava says, well, goodbye, and leaves. When she gets outside, she takes out her phone.

Josslyn walks Carly to the door, and says she’s glad she ran into Carly, even if it was only to pick up her laundry. Carly is sure her dad only installed the washer and dryer to lure her here, and Jax says, it’s possible. Josslyn says they could call her spoiled, or say she’s freeing the dorm machines for students who have no family nearby. He says, that’s his girl, and Carly asks if Josslyn is going back to the dorm tonight. Josslyn says she is. She, Cam, and Trina are working on a project.

Nikolas says, Spencer doesn’t have to say anything else, but Sonny says, let him talk. Spencer says, he was the stalker. The reason he knew about Ava getting the cockroach for Valentine’s Day wasn’t because he found it online; it was because he sent it to her. And the bear, and the creepy letters, and the vandalism at the art studio. He tells Trina that he’s sorry, and tells Nikolas, he wanted Ava out of their lives. She already betrayed him once when he needed her to testify against Valentin. How could he ever trust her after that? How could they ever trust her after that? Trina’s phone rings, and she slips out. Nikolas says, the night of Spencer’s party, Ava’s car was set on fire. It couldn’t have been Spencer. Spencer says, that was Esme.

Brook gets a text from Maxie, saying she’s at Kelly’s and ran into Austin. Yuri walks in, and tells her everything is secure. She says, great. They’re going out. He says, but Dr. Quartermaine said they’d get dessert, and Brook says she’ll buy him a cookie, and leads him out the door.

Leo comes into the living room, and starts playing with some kind of puzzle toy. Ned asks if it isn’t kind of late to be up playing. What’s the matter? Can’t he sleep?

Jax tells Josslyn, it was the pasta sauce Trina gave her, and her reaction, that tipped him off. Plus he thought he saw Sonny after he was shot, but Nina convinced him that he’d been dreaming. Josslyn says, Nina lied to him after he got shot trying to protect her? She can’t believe Nina; this is so twisted. He says he doesn’t believe she was acting out of malice, but Josslyn says, who cares why she did it? They spent nine months thinking Sonny was dead when he wasn’t. He says she’s right. What Nina did was unforgivable. She asks if this means Jax is over Nina – for good this time.

Nina says she’s glad Scotty and Obrecht found each other. She missed a lot while she was in Nixon Falls. He says, yeah… with Sonny. Maxie explained everything to him. How Peter was blackmailing her. She says, great. Now he thinks she’s horrible too, keeping Sonny away from his family all this time. He says, no. He doesn’t judge anyone just. He just felt it was much more enjoyable in Port Charles without Sonny. He wishes she would have kept him in that Podunk town. They were all better off. She says, obviously, not everyone feels that way. Sonny is a really good guy. He was missed, and his loved ones are thrilled to have him back. Scotty shakes his head, and says, don’t tell him that she’s fallen for him too.

Nikolas says, Esme torched Ava’s car? and Spencer says, only because he told her to. She went along with his plan out of a sense of loyalty to him. It was his idea. He was responsible. Just him. Sonny says he heard about that bear with Ryan’s voice. Spencer left it for Avery? Spencer says, it wasn’t his intention to scare Avery; he wanted to scare Ava. Sonny says, but Spencer used his daughter – Spencer’s cousin. He implied there was a threat. Spencer says, but there wasn’t, and Sonny says he’ll take it up with Spencer later. He tells Nikolas, they’re done – for now. Like Nikolas did something wrong here. Sonny and his thugs leave, and Cameron says he’ll give Nikolas and Spencer some privacy. He leaves, closing the door, and in the foyer, Trina says she just saw Sonny and his men leave. She thought he’d still be mad, but he just said, thanks Trina. Cameron asks why she looks so unhappy. Spencer confessed. Wasn’t that the plan? She says, yeah, but did Cameron see the look on his face? How can she be happy about that? Cameron says, it’s seriously messed up. They should tell Joss, and they should also leave. Trina says, not until she gets here.

Spencer asks Nikolas to say something. Please.

Maxie tells Austin, she was terrified when she found out Peter was spotted, and he says she has every right to be terrified. Yet here she is, living her life in spite of what happened. She tells him not to give her too much credit. She was terrified Peter would come back for her somehow, but now that she’s had time to think, and prepare her mind, she assures Austin, if Peter comes for her, he won’t get the best of her this time. Brook breezes in, parks Yuri at the counter, and tells him to order whatever dessert he thinks Monica would like. She goes over to Maxie’s table, and Maxie asks if it isn’t a little late for Deception business. Brook tells Austin, stay out of her family’s business. He says she is his family, but she says she knows what he’s up to and it’s not going to work. He says, at this point, it’s up to the court to decide that, and Brook says, it’s not about his lawsuit. It’s about trying to use Leo to distract her father. He says he’d never use a child. He just wants the best for Leo. Brook says, Leo is not his concern. He might have Quartermaine DNA, but he’s not family. Far from it.

Ned sits on the floor, and tells Leo, sometimes he has trouble sleeping, but he has to keep trying because he’s got to get up for work. Like Leo has to get up for school, right? Leo doesn’t look at Ned, but says, wanna play. Ned says he knows Leo does, but he needs to sleep. They all do. Leo shakes his head, and Ned asks why Leo got out of bed. Did he have a bad dream? He gets no response, and says Leo can tell him. What’s the matter? But Leo stays fascinated with his toy.   

Esme goes over to Ryan, and says, sorry about the delay. She thought Ava would never leave.

Nikolas says, Spencer wants him to say something? What would that be? Spencer hated him because he left, and now he’s forcing Ava to do the same thing to her little girl? And for what? There was no threat. They were happy. They were building a life, building a family together. He would have let Spencer into all of that. So why would he do this. Does Spencer hate him that much? Spencer says, no, and Nikolas says, then please, tell him this is a horrible mistake, and that none of this is true. Ava walks in, and says, what isn’t true?

Nina says, really? and Scotty says she’s not the first girl who’s fallen for Sonny’s dimples and slicked back hair. He’s bad news. Scotty is going to leave it at that. She says he’s wrong about Sonny, and he’s wrong about her. He hands her his card, and she asks why he’s giving it to her. He says, because Sonny is very, very dangerous, and you know who’s more dangerous? Carly. So she’s going to have two courses of action; on legal, and the other… He makes a slitting motion across his throat, and says, watch out.

Carly sits by the fire with a drink, and hears the door open. She closes her eyes for a moment, and Sonny says, she started without him. She says, yeah. She got his text about Dr. Sullivan. How did it go? He says the doctor put him back on his old prescription, and says he’s doing well. She says, good, and he asks if there’s something on her mind. She says, not something, someone – Nina.

On Monday, Willow asks if there hasn’t been some mistake, Spencer asks if Nikolas can forgive him, Esme says there’s so much to celebrate, and Carly says, as far as she’s concerned, Nina got off easy.

Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles

Fredrik wasn’t doing so great with Dolph Lundgren’s house. At $3.9 million, the price was right, but there was the issue of the telephone pole view (or spiew, as one potential buyer called it). There was also a lot of inventory in the area, making buyers picky. Dolph was hitting the heavy bag as he talked to Fredrik, who continued to act intimidated. Everything has been so exaggerated with the two of them, their scenes must have been staged. Tracy’s sister Kristen wanted to sell Maplewood, her estate in Holmby Hills. Built in 1937, the house was 11,500 square feet, with 9 bedrooms and 9 baths. It had been a bone of contention when Kristen bought the house and hadn’t used Tracy to broker the deal. In Tracy’s interview, she said It made her question her worth in her profession. Her sister was also hard to impress. Showings had begun when covid hit, and it was pulled from the market. While the asking price had been $34.9 million, Tracy thought Kristen should go under 30, and they settled at 29.9. Not that it made her potential commission of $747.5K anything to cry over.  

JoshF was leaving to take a look at Suzanne Somers’s home, and husband Bobby was helping him pack for Palm Springs. Bobby wanted to come along, since he’d had a dream of getting his parents a family estate to retire at there. Sadly, his parents had both died a few months apart, but Bobby still wanted to realize his dream. In Josh’s interview, he said Suzanne and husband Alan’s house had been on the market since the McCarthy era. Fredrik was still having no luck with Dolph’s house, and Dolph was pushing him for offers. Fredrik’s team tried to explain, although Dolph was a superstar in Sweden, he was not so much in the USA. No worries. Fredrik called his business partner Niklas, who managed Fredrik’s agency in Sweden. He told Niklas to send some Swedish buyers, and Fredrik would foot the bill for their flight. David brought a client to Tracy at Maplewood, and we found out the house also had 7 fireplaces, a hidden powder room, and a hidden wine room big enough for a table and chairs. I love a hidden room! The primary suite was 2000 square feet, a drop in the bucket to the 32,500 square foot lot. This time, there was a gourmet kitchen. What does that even mean? Who knows. I don’t anyway. It has extra spice racks?

At the Somers estate, JoshF took a funicular – a little car that rides on tracks – up the side of the hill to get to the houses. That’s not a typo; it had 5 villas on 28 acres. Built in 1928, there had only been three owners. There were 7 bedrooms, and I assume as many baths. It also had a farmhouse kitchen, just to be different. Maybe it has a bin for hay. Alan said they’d started with two bedrooms, and added on as the family expanded. They’d purchased it in 1977 for $400K, and were now looking for $10.5 million. Josh thought they were better off at 8.5, since the place was gorgeous, but also an hour and a half outside of the city, in the middle of the desert. Again, the reduction didn’t make his potential commission a measly one at $212.5K.

Fredrik gave a private showing of Dolph’s house to a Swedish couple sent via Niklas. He got choked up meeting other Swedes, and they all did The Little Frog Dance. Apparently, if you’re Swedish, you will know what this is. Dolph just happened to be in the gym, and added some flair to the showing. I wondered if he’d heard The Little Frog Dance, since they’d been pretty loud about it, and it involved a lot of stomping around in a circle. The couple loved the house, but the property was inappropriate for the two horses the wife had. Which she’d neglected to mention. In Fredrik’s interview, he said he’d just gotten over one obstacle – the pole, which the couple found romantic – and he was presented with another one.    

David – who was not joined by James or vice versa this week, eliminating confusion – brought Tracy an offer of $24 million. She told David that she wasn’t even calling her client with that offer, sister or not, and in her interview, she said it would fly with her sister, as much as monkeys would come flying out of her ass. I waited, but that didn’t happen, so I assume she meant not at all. David got his client up to 25.5, but that didn’t fly either. In Tracy’s interview, she said she understood the offer was too low, but it was an offer before the house even got to market. She would have liked some positive reinforcement. I wondered if she would have felt the same way had the client not been her sister.   

Bobby brought JoshF to see a house in Little Tuscany, Palm Springs. Bobby kept calling Josh Joshua, and I kept wondering who he was talking to. In Josh’s interview, he said Bobby had a great eye for real estate… and impeccable taste in men. The house had been built in 1957, was on a 23,522 square foot lot, and had 3 bedrooms and 3 baths. Josh was all about how the value could be increased, and Bobby said he didn’t understand the gravity of the decision. He’d wanted to take care of his parents, and even though that wasn’t going to happen, he was continuing on with the plan. He wasn’t buying a money maker; he was buying a dream he still had. It wasn’t just a house. It was emotional for him, a dream to have a home for generations.  

Fredrik had just gotten a listing for a massive house in Hancock Park, when he got an email from Dolph, who’d decided to take the house off the market. In Fredrik’s interview, he said it wasn’t about the commission. He’d wanted his superhero, to say, you did it, son. Wow. I liked Masters of the Universe, and that Rocky movie, but not that much. Fredrik called his brother Sigge, and said Dolph had broken up with him over email, and wouldn’t return his calls. Sigge gave him a pep talk, asking where the Fredrik was who didn’t dwell on what he couldn’t control, and moved forward.

Next time, JoshA tries to show a house where the kids don’t want the house sold, more Suzanne, and Tracy says there’s a lot at stake.

🐡 The Human Barnacle…

I don’t think she’s Nelle. She would be going after a whole different set of people.

🗼 Au Revoir…

I knew something was different. These kids were good little actors. What’s sad is, they’re not even four and they’re living better lives than mine. A lot better.

🥀 Exiting the Stage…

One more soap talent takes a last bow.

https://people.com/tv/michael-tylo-guiding-light-young-and-the-restless-star-dead-at-72/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/09/30/michael-tylo-dead-young-and-restless-soap-opera-actor/5935134001/

🦉 Who’s Who…

In case you were wondering what the Cassadines are all about.

😆 Laughing It Up…

From soap to Housewife, and back to soap, Denise is changing genres.

👠 She’s Come a Long Way…

From thinking the Underground Railroad was an actual railroad, Porsha has grown as a person and an activist. Now she’s on to a new chapter.

https://people.com/tv/porsha-williams-exiting-real-housewives-atlanta/

👗 Another Parting…

I don’t know how they did it, but they managed to find a bad picture of Cynthia. Her boobs look so… odd.

💣 Boom…

Hey, at least there is a Reunion. I still can’t believe the canceled the one for RHONY.

🍸 Still Employed…

Lets hope it isn’t the same people waiting tables years later.

🍼 No Drama Mama…

Babies bring everyone together.

🏹 Quotes of the Week

Truth is proper and beautiful in all times and in all places. – Frederick Douglass

We can’t be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don’t have something better. – C. JoyBell C.

Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world…would do this, it would change the earth. – William Faulkner

Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. – Rumi

Happiness is only real when shared. – Jon Krakauer

The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it. – Epicurus

Whatever you are, be a good one. – Abraham Lincoln (Even if you’re a drunk?)

The time is always ripe to do right. – Martin Luther King Jr.

You’re going to come across people in your life who will say all the right words at all the right times. But in the end, it’s always their actions you should judge them by. It’s actions, not words, that matter. – Nicholas Sparks (Truer words were never spoken.)

The most effective way to do it, is to do it.Amelia Earhart

✈️ Jetting…

See you at Dead o’clock. Until then, stay safe, stay practicing random acts of kindness, and stay knowing that being right won’t always make you feel happy.

September 30, 2021 – Sonny Visits Nikolas, Don’t Worry, Reunion Rumble, No Expert, Pets Of the Famous & Trees

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Carly tells Jason, Nina knew the whole time Sonny was alive. They got married, and she knew. He says she can’t burn Nina’s life down, and she says, watch her. He says, why let Nina be the victim after all the hell she’s put everybody through? Carly says, Nina needs to pay, and he says, so stand back and let her pay the consequences. Let people hate her the way she deserves. Isn’t it more satisfying that she loses everything and has only herself to blame? She says, fine; she’ll back off. She asks why he’s looking at her, and he says he wants her to mean what she’s saying right now. She says she gets it. If she goes after Nina, Nina will make her out to be the bad guy, and she can’t go down that road again. Nina is so lucky that Jason got there. He says, Josslyn told him, so he had her phone tracked. She says, Josslyn must be so worried and confused, and he says, Josslyn’s exact words were that she was meddling, but she was concerned things might escalate. She says, Josslyn was right. Can he believe Nina knew Sonny was alive? He says, Sonny told him, and was going to tell her. She says she can’t believe what’s happening. She has to go. He asks where she’s going, and she promises not to go anywhere near Nina, and walks out past Ned, slamming the door. Ned asks Jason, what happened? Or is it about to happen?

Alexis finds Shawn in the library setting up the checkerboard. He says she owes him a rematch. She sits down and says she doesn’t know what the point is; he’s going to lose. She has an idea. Why doesn’t he tell her what’s going on with Hayden’s investigation? He said they were a good team. He says, this might come as a surprise to her, but they don’t always have to be on a mission. He says maybe he’s just here for the company, but she says, maybe the company doesn’t find it very exciting to keep beating him at checkers. So let her be his sounding board. Maybe she can help him find out who really tried to kill Hayden.

On the phone, Doc says, Laura coming home soon makes him happy. How are she and Martin getting along? Any sibling rivalry over the TV remote?… That’s good. Doc’s glad he knows his place… Spencer has settled back into Windymere. Hopefully he and Nikolas can smooth things over… He’s afraid not. Ava is still leaving Port Charles. Ava knocks at Doc’s office door, and says she hasn’t left yet. She still has some unfinished business.

Cameron asks what Spencer is talking about. What could he have possibly done to make him feel like he doesn’t deserve a relationship with his own father? He’s known Spencer a long time. He’s seen Spencer at his best, and seen him at his worst, and a lot of those times, the worst outweighed the best. He hopes Spencer knows, he’ll always be there for him, no matter what he’s done. Spencer says, it’s easy for Cameron to say. He’s been in boarding school in Europe while Cameron and Josslyn were at PC High. He’s changed; they all have. Cameron says, if Spencer wants to make a list, and compare the terrible things they’ve done, trust him, he’s in no position to judge. Spencer says Cameron might not, but Trina is a whole other story. Cameron tells him, who says she has to know? and Spencer asks if he can really make that promise. What about Josslyn? The three of them are pretty tight. Cameron says they only have to know what Spencer wants them to know. Spencer says he’s got to admit, it’s been killing him, when the doorbell rings. Cameron asks if Spencer is expecting anyone, and Spencer says, whoever it is, he’ll send them packing. Spencer opens the door, and Trina says, surprise.

Sonny asks how he can help Esme, and she introduces herself. Josslyn pops her head out from around the corner, and Esme says she thought Sonny would like to know Spencer is back in Port Charles. Sonny asks when Spencer arrived, and what he’s been up to, and Esme says, he came home early this summer to surprise his dad… and it’s been one eventful reunion. He asks if Spencer is in trouble, and she says, Spence isn’t, but his father might be. Josslyn watches.

Trina says she thought Spencer would be glad to see her, given their history. She says hi to Cameron, adding that she didn’t think he’d be there. Spencer wonders why security didn’t tell him she was arriving on the launch, and she says, they remembered she had VIP status from his party. They knew she’d always be welcome. Is she interrupting? Spencer says he and Cameron were just catching up. He’s always happy to see her, but why didn’t she call first? Cameron says, good question, and Trina says she needed to show Ava some documents before she took off for Bora Bora with Spencer’s dad. Spencer says, Ava’s not here. Neither is his father. It sounds like she should be looking for them at the airport.

Doc says Laura heard right. Ava just arrived, and it sounds like she’d like to have a talk… He will… Her too. He loves her. He tells Ava that Laura wishes her safe travels, and wants him to tell her that this isn’t goodbye. She expects Ava to return to Port Charles once the police find her stalker. Ava says, sounds like an excellent plan, and asks when Laura returns from her mayor business in DC. He says, soon. Is she sure she doesn’t want to wait and say goodbye in person? She says she can’t. She has a flight booked for London, and sublet a flat. The wheels are definitely in motion. He says he’s sure Laura will understand, and Ava says she stopped by to let him know the divorce papers are filed, and she’s said goodbye to Nikolas. He says, and Avery? She says, Avery is safe with Carly… and Sonny. She’s sure he’s heard about Sonny’s return. He says he has, and he’s very happy for Sonny’s family. She says, Avery is over the moon to have her daddy back. It makes leaving her a little bit easier. He says he does have some free time right now, if she’d like to talk about what’s going on, but she says she’s not there for counseling. She needs for him to make her a promise.

Alexis gives Shawn some coffee, and he asks if Sam knows she wants to be a private investigator. She says she doesn’t have to be a private investigator. She used to be a lawyer, and she’s a Cassadine. She has a very unique perspective on the criminal mind. He says, and he’s worked with criminals for years, not to mention being locked up with them. He thinks he has a similar perspective. She says she sees where this is going. He’s afraid she’s going to get all this information, share it with TJ and Molly, and they’re going to go off on another crusade. He says, that’s a very real consideration. Speaking of Molly and TJ, they’re never home. He thought maybe they’d share dinner once in a while, watch a movie on TV. He microwaves a mean bag of popcorn. She says, nice deflection. What is it he’s trying so hard not to tell her? He knows how she is, and he knows she’s not going to let it go. He says, Jordan’s been injured, and she says she’s sorry; what happened? He says she was trying to help him. Things went sideways. She asks, how? and he says, she was helping him look into Naomie Dreyfuss’s murder. They found a passenger, Roger Barstow, who sat next to her on the plane back to Port Charles. She asks if that was helpful, and he says, Jordan went to interview him at his home. Just as she arrived, who should show up but Curtis and Portia. She asks what they were doing there, and he says, following their own lead. Curtis is helping Sam look into whether Drew is still alive, and if he is, what happened to him. She says, so his investigation and their investigation led to the same house. He says, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Ned asks Jason, so Nina knew Sonny was alive, and just kept visiting Wiley there at Michael’s house, and didn’t say a word? Jason says, that’s why Carly slammed out. Now he knows. Ned says he can only imagine how Michael and Willow will feel. They gave Nina a lot of time with her grandson, which she clearly didn’t deserve. She’s disrupted a lot of lives, Jason’s included. What happens to Jason now that Sonny’s back?

Did Nina make secret visits to Wiley? Because I only remember her visiting once since she went to Nixon Falls, and they’re acting like she was practically hanging out there all summer.

Jax opens the door to Carly, who stomps in, asking, what the hell was he thinking? He says he guesses she spoke to Nina, and she says, he knew Sonny was alive, and conspired with Nina… He says he didn’t conspire. He wasn’t part of Nina’s lies. She says he knew Sonny was in Nixon Falls, but he says he had a hunch; he didn’t know for sure. She says he should have told her about the hunch. She was getting married. He says they’d been fighting so much lately, if he had come to her and said he thought Sonny was alive, she would have accused him of preventing her from marrying Jason. She says he’s been trying to control how she lives her life, and he says, in what universe does Sonny not being home further his agenda? Does she honestly think he wants her with Sonny or Jason? She makes a mean, stupid face at him, and shakes her head.

Sonny asks how Nikolas is in trouble, and Esme says, it involves Mr. Cassadine and his wife, Ava Jerome. He says he knows; they’re divorced. She says, of course (🍷) he would know. He and Ms. Jerome co-parent their daughter Avery, right? She’s sure he thinks it’s none of her business, but Spence adores that little girl. The last thing she wants is for Spence to get hurt. Sonny asks, why would he? and she says she overheard Mr. Cassadine talking on the phone. It sounded like he and Ava plan to leave Port Charles today, and take Sonny’s daughter Avery with them. Josslyn leans back against the wall, and says, she wishes she could hear them.

Carly tells Jax, she loves Sonny. She never would have married Jason if she knew Sonny was alive; he knows that. He says he didn’t have time to tell her. Everything he did in Nixon Falls was to help bring Sonny home to her and the family. She asks how he even knew Sonny was in Nixon Falls, and he says it’s going to sound crazy. Does she remember when Josslyn and Trina came looking for him in Nixon Falls? Trina happened to bring home a homemade jar of marinara sauce she picked up from a bar there. Josslyn used that sauce to make him dinner the other night, and she thought it tasted exactly the way Sonny used to make it. She says, he thought Sonny was in a bar in Nixon Falls, making sauce? like this is the worst thing in the world, but he says, no. Remember the first time he was there, and he got shot? When he was on the gurney, and they were about to put him in the ambulance, he thought he saw Sonny. She asks why he didn’t tell her and Josslyn? and he says, because Nina convinced him that he was hallucinating. Carly raises her fists and grits her teeth, saying, Nina’s lied to him for months. Why isn’t he more angry? Ha! She’s such a piece of work. Because she’s more angry, everyone should be. And all the faces she makes. Ugh.

Shawn tells Alexis, because of the gas she inhaled in Barstow’s basement, Jordan’s remaining kidney was compromised. She needs outpatient treatment in a clinic in Albany that specializes in nephrology. She says, poor Jordan, but it’s good Portia is making a full recovery. She has questions. What’s the connection between Dreyfuss and Barstow, and who is the man Curtis chased into the woods, and does Shawn think he could have killed Barstow? And how does Drew’s plane crash relate to all this? He says he can’t answer any of those questions. Although they do have a tenuous connection between Roger Barstow and Drew Cain’s plane crash. She asks what it is, and he says, the Creighton-Clark clinic.

Doc pulls out a chair for Ava, and says he’s at her service. What kind of promise would she like him to make? She sits, and says, he knows how deep Nikolas’s emotions run – they’re either in a very good place, or a very bad place. Doc says, right now, he’s in a bad place because he’s losing his wife, and she says she’s hoping her absence allows him to work on his relationship with Spencer, because she won’t be around for him to worry about anymore. He says, sometimes the absence of a loved one just makes you miss them more, and she says, like he misses Laura? She is a bit worried about Nikolas. Can he look out for Nikolas? Just make sure he doesn’t give in to his darker impulses?

Josslyn takes a photo of Esme talking to Sonny. Sonny asks if Esme heard Nikolas say he’s taking off with Avery, and she says, he was booking a first class flight to Bora Bora for himself, Miss Jerome, and Sonny’s daughter. She’s sure he thinks he’s protecting Avery from the stalker, but she thought Sonny should know. He says she was right to come to her with this. Thanks for filling him in. He leaves, and Josslyn comes out, and looks at Esme.   

Trina asks if Spencer’s dad told him that he and Ava kissed and made up, but Spencer says, Cameron did. Cameron says, after Trina told him that he booked first class reservations for Nikolas and Ava, he assumed Nikolas had already told Spencer. Trina says, Ava already told her, and she was so excited. Spencer’s phone rings, and he says he has to get this. Trina says, it’s not his dad, is it? but Spencer says he thinks his dad is too busy flirting with Ava to remember he has a son. Privacy please. Trina and Cameron go to the entryway, Cameron closing the door behind them. Trina asks what Cameron is doing there. He was supposed to tell Spencer the lie about Bora Bora, then leave. Thereby giving Spencer the freedom to leave Windymere, and them the freedom to tail him. The way this is going, they might never find out if he’s Ava’s stalker.

Spencer asks Esme, where are you? She says, relax. She took care of things. Daddy dearest won’t be taking off to Bora Bora with the wicked wife. He asks, why not? and she says she told him that she took care of things. He says, what did she do?

Ava tells Doc, for two people who started off manipulating one another, she and Nikolas formed a very strong bond. He says, some might even call it love, and she says, maybe it’s the difference in their backgrounds. She’s much more pragmatic. She hates leaving, but knows it’s something she has to do. She knows she’ll miss her life there, especially Avery. Of course (🍷) she’ll miss Nikolas. She’s sure she’ll probably shed a tear or two, but she knows she’ll be all right. Nikolas isn’t like that. He’s not used to compromise, to having to adjust. She’s worried that once the reality of her absence sets in, he won’t react well. That’s why she needs Doc to look after him. Doc asks, who’s going to look after her? and she says she’ll look after herself. She won’t be anybody’s victim. Never again. She thanks him for everything, and tells Doc, take good care of him. And please give that beautiful wife of his a hug. She hugs Doc, and he says he will. He tells her to take care too.

Shawn tells Alexis, Roger Barstow worked in the records department at Creighton-Clark. Drew was there for at least six months. Curtis thought there might be something in the records tied to Drew’s disappearance. Portia went with him, hoping her doctor status would encourage Barstow to share files. Alexis says, instead, Jordan found him murdered in the basement, and Shawn says he wishes he could find out if Barstow working at the clinic is relevant to him sitting next to Naomie on the plane. Or is it just some bizarre coincidence? She says, he told her they bought their plane tickets together. That doesn’t strike her as a coincidence. He says he’s more interested in her reaction when he mentioned Creighton-Clark, and she says, Drew was her former son-in-law. He says, of course (🍷). She would have heard mention of the clinic, and know Robin was instrumental in his escape. She says, there’s that, but it turns out she has a more direct family connection to Creighton-Clark.

Cameron says, what is he still doing there? What is Trina doing there in the first place? That was not part of the plan. She says she had to improvise when Joss left to tail Esme, and there was no sign of him at the pier. He says, Spencer was about to tell him something really important, and she says, Spencer told Cameron that he was Ava’s stalker? He says, it was kind of heading in that direction. He didn’t say the words exactly, but she blew it the moment she walked in.

Spencer tells Esme not to play around. How did she take care of things between his father and Ava? Are they reconciled or aren’t they? She says, don’t worry about the minor details; focus on the big picture. His father is going to be convinced to stay in Port Charles by someone a lot more persuasive than him. He says, this is not making him feel better, but she says, it’s too late. She lit the match, and the fuse is burning. Oh, one more thing. The explosion happens at Windymere, and he doesn’t want to be around.

Doc sees Josslyn, and says, hello. He asks if everything is all right. Esme realizes Josslyn has been there.

Jason tells Ned, Sonny is back, so things just go back to normal. Ned says, and by normal, he means Carly and Sonny are still married, and Jason is once again Sonny’s loyal lieutenant. Jason says, pretty much, and Ned assumes Jason is thrilled, but doubts Jason’s mother will be. He knows she said she supported Jason and Carly being married. That’s because Jason told her that he was happy, and that’s all Monica wants for him. Still, he imagines she’ll be relieved that he and Carly are no longer husband and wife. Jason says, probably, and Ned says, the downside is Sonny’s back, a man she’s loathed since the day Jason started to work for him. Jason says, it was always his choice to work for Sonny, and Ned says Jason doesn’t need to defend Sonny. He is who he is. He did what he did. The point is, now he’s back, which means once again he’ll be calling the shots, while Jason will be taking all the risks. That has to be a nightmare for his mother.

Jax tells Carly, Nina made the wrong choice with good intentions. She thought she was protecting Sonny from his old life. She says, protecting Sonny? and he says, she thought he was happier in Nixon Falls. Carly laughs, and says, she’s a liar. She was doing it to protect Sonny, she was doing it to save her relationship with Wiley, when the fact is, Nina still blames her for what happened to Nelle, so this is payback, plain and simple. He says, it’s true that Nina was traumatized by everything that happened to Nelle, but was she really wrong about Sonny’s safety? He heard a limo blew up outside of her wedding, and a couple of mobsters got killed. She asks if he’s seriously saying this to her right now? Is he kidding her? He says he’s not talking about Sonny’s physical safety in Nixon Falls. He was happier there mentally, and Nina saw that. Carly says, so she should go thank Nina?

Jax says Carly wasn’t in Nixon Falls. She didn’t see Sonny’s life there. It was simpler, less complicated. He was a guy named Mike. He worked behind the bar, and took care of… She tells him, stop. He saw what he wanted to see. He’s hated Sonny for 25 years. He’s hated how powerful Sonny is, how arrogant he is. She’s sure nothing made him happier than seeing Sonny humbled, tending bar somewhere. (Good Lord, here she goes again, looking down on normal people.) He asks if she honestly believes that his only issues with Sonny are about his ego. She knows how much he hates that Sonny’s business puts Josslyn at risk, and his return might make her life even more dangerous. Carly says, it will make Josslyn’s life safer, because there won’t be any question about who’s in charge of the business. He says, if it makes her feel better, he gave Nina an ultimatum, that if she didn’t tell Sonny who he was, he was going to do it. She says, he trusted the person who’s been lying for nine months to step up and tell the truth, and he says, Sonny’s home, isn’t he? She says, because he was trapped in a fire, and almost died. He remembered everything on his own. No thanks to Jax, and no thanks to Nina. He says, believe what she wants. It’s her life, and he doesn’t want any part of it.

Shawn asks what’s the family connection Alexis has to Creighton-Clark, and she says, her Uncle Victor ran the clinic for some time. He asks if she can get in touch with her uncle, but she says, not without holding a séance. Last she heard, he was pretty dead. He was killed when the clinic was destroyed; shot, she believes. Shawn says, another roadblock they can’t seem to get around, and she says, at the time, Victor was director of the WSB. He took over the Bureau from the inside and used it for his own ends. Her understanding is that the details are classified, but if she were Shawn, she’d contact Anna or Robert. They could probably tell him more. Ava walks in.   

The doorbell at Windymere rings, and Cameron says, if it’s Josslyn and Esme, he gives up. He opens the door, and it’s Sonny with a couple of thugs in suits (sounds like a good name for a band). Trina tells him, welcome back; it’s good to see him. Cameron seconds that, and he says it’s good to see them too. He’s sure Josslyn relied heavily on both of them while he was gone. Is Spencer’s father around? Spencer asks, who’s at the door? and smiles to see Sonny. He hugs Sonny, and Sonny asks if he gets tired of people telling him that he’s all grown up. Spencer asks if Sonny gets tired of hearing people welcome him back from the dead. He looks pretty good for a guy who has a headstone at Woodlawn. Sonny says he has nine lives, and Spencer says he’d thought Sonny used them all up. He can’t believe Sonny is there, in the flesh. When he heard Sonny passed away, he knew he had to come home. He realized life’s too short not to spend it with his family. Sonny asks if his father is there, but Spencer says, he guesses Nikolas is already on his jet, or in Bora Bora. Sonny’s guess is as good as his.

Esme says hi to Josslyn. She didn’t realize Josslyn was right behind her. Esme says it’s nice to see Doc, and he says he hopes nothing serious brought her there. She says, just visiting a friend, like she has a lot of those in Port Charles. Josslyn tells Doc that she was having her ankle checked; it’s all good. He says he’s glad, and he and Laura are very happy to hear Sonny is alive. Laura can’t wait to see him when she comes home. Josslyn thanks him, and says, Sonny can’t wait to see Laura either. He says he’s sure they’ll be in touch. He starts to leave, but Esme asks him if he has as second. She and Spencer are auditing classes at PCU, and she’s in a Cognitive Psych class. She’d love to pick his brain. He says, since Cognitive Psychology directs us within, she could pick her own brain, and let him know what she finds. She says, deal, and he leaves. She turns to Josslyn, and asks why it looked like Josslyn was sneaking up on her. Josslyn asks what she was talking to Sonny about.  

Jason says, Monica doesn’t need to worry about him, and Ned says, maybe Jason believed that once upon a time, but he’s a father now. If Jake or Danny came to him, and said they were going to do something incredibly dangerous, he wouldn’t need to worry? Would he worry any less? Jason says, no, and Ned says, in fact, Jason might worry more if he knew that child had no fear for their own safety. That they would run, not walk, to put their life on the line so Sonny Corinthos could turn a profit. Jason says he works for Sonny because he wants to. Sonny is his friend, the work suits him, he’s good at it; it’s his choice. Ned says, given the amount of times Jason has been arrested or injured, Jason can see how that choice would be tough on a mother. Jason says he does, and Ned says, and the rest of the family for that matter.

Jax tells Carly, he might not be responsible for Sonny’s return, but he played a part in it. One he may live to regret, so she’s welcome. She says, he’s expecting a thank you? Go to hell. She knows what the hell is going on here. Jax is protecting Nina because he cares about her, and wants her back. Even though she’s been lying for the past nine months. Keep sticking up for her. He says, the irony in all of this is, when he told Nina that she had to come clean, and had to tell Sonny who he was, she accused him of sticking up for Carly. He can’t win with either one of them. She says, poor Jax. It’s a shame he can’t get Nina back. He says, that’s never going to happen. She’s moved on.

Ava asks if she’s interrupting a game. Who’s playing? Alexis says, she was going to win anyway, so they don’t even bother playing. She heard Ava was encamping in London, and Ava says, Nikolas told her. Alexis says, he’s heartbroken about the divorce, and she’s assuming he’s not the only one. Ava says, he’s not, but she doesn’t have a choice. She has to keep her daughter safe. Alexis points to Ryan, and says she’s been doing her best to keep an eye on this psycho, but from what she can tell, he doesn’t seem to be faking his locked-in condition. Ava thanks her, and says, the sad fact is, she’s no closer now to knowing who the stalker is, than she was on Valentine’s Day when she got that first creepy gift. Alexis asks if Ava’s made all her arrangements, and Ava says, the gallery is taken care of, Kristina agreed to manage Charlie’s, she’s said all her goodbyes… All but one. She glares at Ryan.

Esme says she was talking to Josslyn’s stepfather about a family matter, and Josslyn says, she’s not family. Esme says, Spence is, and Josslyn says, and that concerns Esme how? Esme says, Mr. Corinthos has relationships with other people in Port Charles. It’s not really a good look for Josslyn, acting territorial about her stepfather. She’s at a loss here. She’s only ever wanted to be Josslyn’s friend. The way Josslyn and Trina have been treating her has really hurt her feelings. Why don’t they like her? Josslyn tell her, cut the crap, Es. Her innocent act may work with Spencer, but Josslyn is on to her. Oh, and if whatever she’s planning involves Josslyn’s family, Esme’s feelings will be the least of her problems.

Spencer leads Sonny into the drawing room, and says he’ll try to call his father again. Maybe he’ll pick up this time. Sonny says he can’t believe Trina and Cameron are in college, and he missed their graduation. Did they have fun? Cameron says, they did… mostly. There was actually some unexpected drama at Trina’s party. Sonny asks, what kind of drama? when Nikolas walks in. He says, Sonny, and Spencer says he’s been calling. Nikolas says his phone was on silent. Is everything okay? Sonny says he’s glad he caught Nikolas before he left. If the kids will excuse them, they have a lot of catching up to do.

Ned says, they may not spend a lot of time together, but they all care what happens to Jason. Jason says he can’t promise to change the way he does business, but he’s not a pissed off 20 year old anymore. He does take into consideration that he has people who care about him, and want him to be safe, and he does everything he can to stay that way. Ned says, that’s all they can ask, and Jason says he’ll stop by the hospital, and tell Monica what’s going on. Ned says, that’s a great idea. He’s sure Monica will want to see him. Jason thanks him for speaking up, and Ned says, it’s kind of his job, to speak for the Quartermaines. Like it or not, Jason is still one of them. Jason says he knows, and leaves. Ned sighs, probably catching that from Jason.

Esme says, between her classes, volleyball, and cute boyfriend, she’s surprised Josslyn has the time to be worried about her. But since she seems a tad obsessed, she’ll give Josslyn some advice. Minding her own business is great; minding Esme’s will cost her. She walks away, and Josslyn says, poor Spencer. He’s got no idea who Esme is. Apparently Esme has no idea who Sonny is either.  

Ava goes to Ryan, and bends down so her face is level with his. She says she has no idea how he managed it, but she knows he’s got something to do with whoever is stalking her. And he’s won, for now. She’s leaving town, but she’s making it her mission to discover the truth. And when she does, he’ll rue the day she returns to Port Charles. Shawn tells Alexis, he can only imagine the brimstone and hellfire Ava is pouring into Ryan’s ear. Alexis says, he deserves it, and Shawn says, no argument here. She says, let’s get back to Creighton-Clark. If there’s a link between Naomi’s murder and Drew’s disappearance, then Sam’s investigation just got a lot more dangerous. He says he sees where it might concern Alexis, and she says, this somehow leads back to the Cassadines. It always does. They need to figure out how, before even more people get killed.

Jax asks, what exactly did Nina tell Carly about her life in Nixon Falls? Carly says, that she knew Sonny was alive and well the whole time, and she kept it a secret from her and his family. Why? What else does Nina know? What else is she holding back?

Spencer walks outside with Trina and Cameron, and Trina wonders if it’s her, or did the room temperature drop when Sonny saw Nikolas. Cameron says he knows what she means, but Spencer says, it’s just her. Trina’s phone dings, and she looks at it, concerned. Spencer asks, what’s going on?  

Nikolas asks what Sonny means about catching him before he left. He’s not going anywhere. Sonny’s thugs stand on either side of Nikolas, and Sonny says, no, he’s not. Not if he has anything to say about it.

Tomorrow, Maxie asks why Nina thinks Sonny hasn’t mentioned it, Ava tells someone to consider themselves warned, and Sonny says he’s not leaving until he and Nikolas have an understanding.

👯‍♂️ Still BFFs…

I had no clue anyone was concerned. I know I wasn’t.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/are-gina-kirschenheiter-emily-simpson-still-friends-rhoc

⚔️ Battle Not-So-Royale…

Of course she fought with Andy. She has to stay relevant, and there are only so many times we can talk about how addled Tom is and how many times her son’s car rolled.

🩺 Paging Dr. Vicki…

As the guy said in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, I’m not dead yet. However, it’s true that everyone who gets the vaccine is going to die. So will everyone who doesn’t.

But really, I’d believe medical advice from someone who was fooled by pseudo cancer patient Brooks for years?

🐶 Never Enough…

Something fun to end the day. Or begin it.

https://www.whowhatwear.com/celebrities-and-their-pets

👓 I’ll Be Seeing You…

Tomorrow, overpriced real estate, soap, tea, and valuable words. Until then, stay safe, stay bold, and stay focused on the big picture. Unless Esme is involved. Then run.